The Next Generation 4: Cracking the Code
by S-Drama-Queen-17
Summary: Elizabeth Potter has a strange code to crack, and does it have anything to do with the return of the Dragon?
1. The Invitation

Chapter 1 – Invitation

On a street somewhere in England was a house. In that house lived a family, comprised of a mother, a father, and two daughters. The first one was Emma Smith. She was tall and proud with an upturned nose. Everything that wasn't exactly her way, she hated. The other had not originally belonged to this family; she had been adopted. She really couldn't look less like the other members of the family, with her blonde hair, blue eyes, and stature (or lack thereof). Her name was Elizabeth Potter.

Right now, inside that house, there was occurring a blazing row. Emma and Liz were really going at it this time, which was giving the matron of the household, Mrs. Smith, quite a headache. "Quiet down, girls, please," she begged.

"But Emma destroyed my Ancient Runes book!" Liz protested, red in the face. "I haven't finished that assignment yet! What am I supposed to do?"

"That's not a book! It's just pages full of symbols," said Emma. "No one can read that."

"Just because you're not magic doesn't mean you're the only one! If I go back to school without my summer work, Professor Stickler will kill me! Or worse, kick me out!"

"So you need a freak book to teach you how to be a freak?" Emma said coldly. "If you ask me, you've already got that part down."

Liz knew she couldn't curse Emma. It was against school rules, not to mention Ministry of Magic laws. But maybe she could use her powers and make it look like an accident. I wish my wand would put a spell on Emma, she thought. Her wand feebly rolled over on Emma's desk, nothing more. Darn.

Ever since the summer had started, these powers of hers had worked like a car with no engine. At the very beginning, it was as if they were completely used up. Gradually, they had gotten to this point, where she could get a weary wiggle out of some objects, but that didn't help when her adoptive sister was trying to ruin her academic career.

So Liz picked up her wand and pointed it threateningly at Emma, who gasped in unison with Mrs. Smith. Neither knew she was banned from doing magic over the summer. She pretended to rack her brains, trying to think of the perfect spell to use.

"Don't do it, Liz," said Mrs. Smith.

"Don't you dare," Emma added.

Liz stepped forward. Emma cried out and retreated.

"Pay me back for my book so I can get a new one," Liz demanded.

"But you don't use—"

"I can trade it in for wizard money at Gringotts," Liz replied calmly, not budging an inch.

"Why should I pay you for your book?"

"Because you spilled your black paint all over it!" Liz yelled. "It's ruined! You ruined it! Now pay me back!"

Emma sighed. "How much?"

Liz named a sum. Emma cried out in protest, looking to her mother for help. "Reasonable," said Mrs. Smith. "Pay her." Emma dug in her pocket for the money, and fished the rest out of her desk drawer.

"Happy?" she sneered.

"Let's stop this foolishness," said Mrs. Smith, her hands placed on her hips. "You two have been feuding ever since Liz became a witch."

Liz felt compelled to tell her adoptive mother that she hadn't just "become" a witch. She had possessed magic powers since she was born, but had only found out about them three years ago, when the headmistress of Hogwarts, Minerva McGonagall, had shown up on her front doorstep to explain. However, she also felt it might not be prudent to correct one so angry, so she silenced her tongue before it could produce a sound.

"That's because magic is weird," said Emma.

"Stop that. Just because you aren't magic doesn't mean it's weird," said Mrs. Smith. Liz smiled. Finally she was on her side. Emma caught the grin and glared at her. "Liz, you may go to your room now," said Mrs. Smith.

Liz hurried out, glad to have won that round. Then she had to come back to get her wand. Emma was already on the phone, inviting one of her friends over. She eyed Liz when the latter slipped into and out of the room.

Once safely back in her bedroom, Liz cracked open her trunk. What assignment should she do next? Ancient Runes was out. She'd have to wait to go to Diagon Alley to finish that one, and she'd have to wait for her letter from Hogwarts to call her friend Michael Weasley so they could arrange for a time to go shopping. I wish the school owl would come, she thought. Nothing. This time last year she hadn't been able to stop her powers, and now she couldn't get them work. She reluctantly pulled out her Potions book, opened it up to a page near the middle, and set to work. Professor Snape had given them an impossible assignment, but Liz felt confident that she could do it. That's how she felt with most all of her work. It was an unspoken fact that Elizabeth Potter would be the fifth-year Gryffindor girl prefect next year Hogwarts. The others didn't stand a chance.

Liz briefly thought about the others. There was her other best friend, Rachel Yates, who goofed off too much and was more interested in her social life that academic career. There were also Desiree Armstrong, who was interested in boys in particular, and Alberta Monroe, who was neither good nor bad at schoolwork. And, of course, Bettie Hess. Bettie had been against Liz ever since Liz had ruined the Valentine's Day Dance their first year.

In half an hour, Liz was done with Potions and continued on to Transfiguration. Suddenly, outside her door, she heard distinct, high-pitched giggles. It was Emma and her friend. Liz refrained from opening the door so she could listen in.

"And," Emma said, trying and failing to stifle her laughter, "she goes to a school for people who have learning disabilities. Mum and Dad were so ashamed, they made sure it was a boarding school!"

The other girl laughed harder. Liz clenched her fists, angrier than she had ever been with Emma. She was distracted by two loud thuds from the direction of her window. It was two owls. Liz cringed. She had spent so much time cleaning her window that it probably looked like it had been opened. When she let the two owls in, she realized at once that one came from Hogwarts and one came from Michael. She opened the school letter first.

Dear Miss Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that your fourth-year is about to start. Term begins on September first. Enclosed are a supply list and your train ticket. We look forward to seeing you there.

Hermione Weasley

Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Liz was so excited about the oncoming school year that she forgot about Michael's letter until she saw his mother's signature. Mrs. Weasley was Deputy Headmistress and the Transfiguration teacher at Hogwarts. She hastily ripped the second letter open.

Dear Liz,

Did you get your school letter yet? I did, so I sent George straight over to you. Mum and Dad say I can invite you and Rachel (and the twins) over for the rest of the summer after we go to Diagon Alley. Please write back, as Dad broke the telephone.

Michael

Liz flew down the stairs to the living room, where Mr. and Mrs. Smith were watching television. She thrust the letter at them without explanation. "Well?" she said. "Can I go?"

"I suppose," said Mrs. Smith. "But we'll miss you. And I bet Emma will miss you too."

"Oh, I doubt it," said Liz under her breath. "Thanks, Mum, I'm going to write back." She returned upstairs, passing Emma and her friend on the way. They were still laughing. Ignoring them, she entered her room, wrote a reply, and sent it off with George, Michael's owl. Then she waved the Hogwarts owl out the window after it. She couldn't wait until term finally started.


	2. Giselle's Jewelry Shop

Chapter 2 – Giselle's Jewelry Shop

Two days later, Michael showed up on Liz's front doorstep. Behind him, in the driveway, stood a car. "Wizards drive?" was the first thing she said to him.

"Sort of. You'll see," Michael answered. "Do you have all your stuff?" Liz pointed to a large trunk she was trying to pull along, with the cages of both her pets on each arm. "Let me help," said Michael. He took Luna and Sunny, leaving Liz to lug her trunk to the car, where the rest of the Weasleys, Rachel, and the twins were waiting.

"It's my grandpa's," said Michael, handing Sunny through the window to Theresa. "It goes invisible, and it flies. Dad fixed it for him."

"I don't know why, though," said Mr. Weasley from the driver's seat. "I hate this stupid car. In my second-year—"

"Ron, if we don't hurry, we'll never have enough time to shop," said Mrs. Weasley.

Liz heaved her luggage into the trunk of the car and climbed in. "Hi, Rachel," she said. "We finally get to see where Michael lives, huh?"

"Yeah," Rachel replied. "After we go shopping."

"Engine—on," said Mr. Weasley, turning the key. The ignition started up. Liz caught a glimpse of Emma peering out the window. "Invisibility Booster on." Mr. Weasley flicked a switch, and the automobile disappeared. Emma's jaw dropped and she stared, transfixed on the spot where the car had been. "And up we go!"

Liz felt herself lifting into the air. "What's happening?" Rachel cried.

"We're flying!" answered Michael.

The car swerved to the side, causing everyone in the backseat to squish against Liz, who was on the end. "Sorry," Mr. Weasley apologized, spinning the wheel. It swerved to the other side, and now everyone fell against Jessica.

"Oh, let me do it!" Mrs. Weasley snapped. Though Liz couldn't see them, she knew that Michael's parents had both Disapparated and switched places. With Mrs. Weasley at the wheel, the car righted itself.

"He can fix the car but he can't drive the car," said Jessica to the others in the magically-enlargened backseat.

"I heard that," Mr. Weasley said irritably.

The rest of the ride to the Leaky Cauldron was smooth. They landed before the dingy pub with a slight bump, and Mrs. Weasley turned off the Invisibility Booster when no Muggles were looking. All the children in the back seat managed to get out, and they went inside. They safely made their way through the building to the back wall, which was the secret entrance to Diagon Alley. Mr. Weasley tapped on the bricks with his wand and opened up the archway. "Here we are," said Mrs. Weasley. They entered.

"Gringotts! Gringotts!" screeched the twins, hopping up and down. Rachel moaned and buried her face in her hands.

At Gringotts, they went first to the Yates vault. It really wasn't full at all. Rachel gathered up some of the money for all three of them. Next they went to the Weasley vault, which made the Yates vault seem empty. Since Jessica needed so many new supplies for her new N.E.W.T. level classes, Mrs. Weasley gathered up quite a large amount of money out of the vault. Finally they came to Liz's vault, which was considerably larger that the Weasleys'. She took what looked like enough to get all her school supplies and maybe an extra book for her free time. After that, she went to the front desk and talked to the teller goblin to exchange Emma's money for wizard money to re-buy her Ancient Runes book. Then they headed to Flourish and Blotts to get their schoolbooks.

While Jessica helped the twins find the books they needed, Rachel, Michael, and Liz went to go get their new books. Liz found her Ancient Runes textbook and translator and the new books she needed. Then she followed Rachel and Michael around the shelves, browsing for a new book. The only satisfactory book she could find was calledEverything You Didn't Know About Ancient Runes."Maybe I can get Professor Stickler to assign some extra credit," she thought aloud, plucking the book off the shelf.

"You read too much," said Michael, taking his new Defense Against the Dark Arts book off the shelf. "I wonder who our new teacher will be? You know, since Pumjy quit?"

"Maybe someone good," said Rachel. "I mean, think about it. In first-year we had Garb, and, well, you know how he was. In second-year we had Nilworg, who turned out be in league with the Dragon and hypnotizing the whole school. And last year we had Pumjy, the one who wouldn't open his desk drawer because he was afraid of what might be inside. We deserve someone better."

"I agree," said Liz. "Someone who's not stupid or evil."

Just then, the twins caused a large commotion by knocking over a bookshelf. Mrs. Weasley ushered all of them out of the store before the manager, whom they had met before, could find out.

"I need new robes, Mum," Jessica said outside.

"It's your sixth-year," said Mrs. Weasley exasperatedly. "Can't you hold out two more years?"

Jessica pursed her lips and looked exactly like her mother did when a student didn't turn in homework. Mrs. Weasley gave up. "Fine. Let's head over to Madame Malkin's."

"But we don't need to go there, Mum," Michael protested. "We still need to go to the Apothecary, and I want to stop by Quality Quidditch Supplies for some more broom polish."

"Fine, you three meet us at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream in two hours," said Mrs. Weasley, "and be ready to leave."

"Do we have to go look at Quidditch things?" Liz complained as they set off up the main street toward the Apothecary. "It's so boring."

"There's a new jewelry shop right near there," said Rachel. "We can go there while Michael looks at Quidditch supplies."

At the Apothecary, they restocked on potions supplies. Then Michael headed to the Quidditch store, while Liz and Rachel went to the jewelry shop.

"Ooh, it's nice in here!" said Rachel as they walked in.

"It's a spell," said Liz. "Two spells actually. I think a Calming Charm and a Cheering Charm are on this place. Whoever came up with that was clever."

"That would be me," said a misty voice from the back of the store. Liz and Rachel moved toward it, and found a young woman who looked like a gypsy. She was covered in beaded shawls, making it look like tiny objects were dripping from every inch of her body. Each movement she made was accompanied by a loud rustling sound, and she seemed vaguely familiar to Liz. "My mother owns this shop. I am Giselle. Would you like to buy something?"

"We're just looking," said Rachel. "Thank you." She hurried Liz over to another corner of the store. "She's strange, don't you think?"

But Liz wasn't paying a speck of attention. She was staring instead at someone who had just entered the store. "Hide, Rachel, hide!" she hissed, diving behind a display case. Rachel stood there stupidly for a moment before Liz tugged on her arm.

"What is_he_ doing here?" Rachel asked.

Liz shook her head, at a loss for words. What _was _David Hannigan doing in a jewelry shop? He strode to the front counter, where the woman named Giselle was still standing patiently. "How much for one of these bracelets?" he asked her, fingering a bracelet with very distinct pattern on it.

"Five Galleons," she answered. He dug in his pocket for the money and handed it to her. She gave him the bracelet. Liz flitted behind each case to see his every step before the door shut behind him.

"What do you think he was doing here?" Rachel said. "He surely can't want that for himself. Isn't he going out with Bettie? But wait—remember last year on the train? It's for you! I bet he likes you and he's going to give you jewelry as a gift! How romantic!"

"Rachel, I've probably spoken to him four times in my life!" Liz said. "He hardly knows me!"

"You hardly know him, but you like him."

She had a point. Liz just sighed and said, "Come on, let's go get Michael and do something else."

Rachel blurted out every detail of the instance to Michael as soon as they saw him. He didn't really seem too interested in it. "So you saw David. It's probably his mum's birthday or something." Liz instantly agreed with this. Rachel shut up about it on their way to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes up the street, but Liz kept seeing her send sly lances Liz's way. She tried to ignore them, but she couldn't ignore the feeling in her chest that hoped Rachel was right.

At Ron's older brothers' store, they found Fred Weasley, manning the business counter, which was crowded with customers. "Hello, Michael! Three bags of Canary Creams, all right, that'll be one Galleon. Thank you. How are you doing, nephew? No, we're out of the Whiz-Bangs at the moment, why don't you come back tomorrow? I'll be right with you three! Wait, sir, I haven't give you your change!"

"We're just looking!" Michael called back to him over the din of the crowd. Fred nodded absently, now searching through a box of skin-colored recorders. Michael led them over to a section of the store with display jokes such as fireworks and banners. As Fred had said, they were out of Whiz-Bangs, but everything else was fully stocked. Next they checked out the sweets section, where Rachel picked out a mystery bag. "I gone one of those once," Michael said warningly, "and I still have the scar." Rachel paid him no heed. They checked out, said goodbye to Michael's uncle, and headed out to do some more browsing.

After almost two hours had passed, they headed to the ice cream parlor and got one scoop of ice cream each to tide them over until they got to the Weasleys' house. "What is it like, exactly?" Rachel asked. Michael started to answer but was cut off when his mother, his father, his sister, and Rachel's sisters reached them.

"Time to go," Mrs. Weasley said shortly. They headed back through the Leaky Cauldron to the car, where Liz made sure she sat in the middle this time. Mr. Weasley sat obediently in the passenger's seat so his wife could drive. Away they flew, into the pale blue sky.

The ride took hours. Liz alternated between sleeping and talking to Rachel and Michael, neither of whom were tired at all. Finally, they landed in a barren, empty field. Liz looked at Rachel confusedly, and Rachel shrugged.

_"Show yourself,"_ Mrs. Weasley intoned.

Liz, who had just taken Sunny's cage out of the car, nearly dropped it. Right before her very eyes, there appeared a house that could only be described with one word: huge. Rachel's jaw dropped. Michael didn't seem to notice. "Come one, let's go inside. Need help with Luna's cage, Liz?"

"Your house is so big!" Liz cried.

"I know. It's not a big deal."

"I call it Weasley Manor," said Jessica.

Liz looked up at the top of the house, nearer to the sky than Liz ever thought she'd be, and followed Michael with her trunk into Weasley Manor.


	3. A Short Stay and a Long Trip

Chapter 3 – A Short Stay and a Long Trip

If Liz thought Michael's house was big on the outside, it was nothing compared to the inside. Liz, Rachel, and each twin got their own room. The twins were ecstatic, having never owned their own rooms before. Each of the hallways led to the remotest corners of the house, and the vast, empty field they had been in earlier had transformed into a large yard with lush green grass. "Dad insisted on having the tightest security," Michael said when asked to explain the disappearing manor. "Probably because Grandpa used to be the Minister of Magic."

"Really?" said Liz.

"Yeah, for a little while, after Cornelius Fudge and before the one they have now: Uncle Percy."

"Your uncle is Minister of Magic?" Liz exclaimed.

"I thought you knew," said Rachel. "Everyone knows about Percy Weasley."

"Dad doesn't like him much," said Michael. "He hates having an older brother for a boss. And Uncle Percy takes power seriously. Grandmother says it was a matter of time after he became Junior Assistant to the Minister when Fudge was in office."

"I can't believe I've never read about that," said Liz, still surprised.

Rachel laughed. "Me too."

Since they had approximately a week to kill before the train ride to Hogwarts, they spent their time finishing summer assignments. The only one Liz had to do was Ancient Runes because of the whole Emma ordeal, but Michael and Rachel had barely started. Liz ended up helping them for much of the time, even though she had solemnly sworn on numerous occasions never to use her academic skills for the benefit of her friends' grades. She began reading her new Ancient Runes book also, which turned out to be very interesting.

At last, the day came when Liz and the Yateses had to pack up and leave Weasley Manor for the school year, along with Michael and Jessica. They took the flying car again, still on loan from Mr. Weasley's father, to King's Cross Station.

"I'm going to Apparate later, so I'll see you there," said Mrs. Weasley as she climbed back into the car.

"But you can't Apparate on the Hogwarts grounds," said Liz.

"I know. I'm going to the other end of the forest and flying my broom the rest of the way. I'll be there in time for the Sorting."

"All right. Bye, Mum!" Michael said. The car disappeared and flew off. The six Hogwarts pupils hurried toward the barrier between platforms nine and ten, where they slipped through and found themselves in Platform 9 ¾. The twins and Jessica hurried off with some friends, leaving Liz, Michael, and Rachel to load their luggage into the train, board, and find a compartment for themselves.

"I can't believe how time has flown," said Liz, taking her Defense Against the Dark Arts book out of the bag she had brought with her. "We're already in our fourth-year."

"Next year they'll name the prefects," said Rachel.

"Wonder who that'll be," said Michael, staring pointedly at Liz.

"But I'm serious! After this year, we'll only have three more years left here. Then it's out in the world, to find our own jobs and fend for ourselves!"

"You're too philosophical," said Michael, biting into a chocolate frog from his pocket. Liz ignored him and began to read.

Half an hour later, when she had read the whole textbook, she began to take out another book when David passed by their compartment. Liz summoned up all the courage she could muster and got up, saying, "Hi, David!"

He turned to look at her. "Hi, Liz. How was your summer?" he asked, flashing a grin.

"Pretty rotten," Liz answered truthfully, thinking of Emma. "How about yours?" The next words popped out of her mouth before she could even think about them. "How has Bettie been?"

His face darkened. "We broke up," he said shortly. "But I got over it." He cast his eyes around, seemingly searching for a different conversation topic. Liz felt horrible. What had made her say that? "I guess I better go," he said, turning away. "See you at school."

Liz turned to go back into her compartment, but a moving figure down the passage caught her eye. It was Winnie Chen, her long ebony hair flying behind her as she ran. She had really changed over the summer, but nothing could change the disgusted expression she used when she looked upon Liz. "Oh, hi, Liz," she said coldly. "Fancy seeing you here."

"Oh, yes. Why would I be on the Hogwarts train when I go to Hogwarts? Unheard of." The two eyed each other maliciously. Finally Winnie tried to sidestep Liz to follow David's path. "Where are you going?" Liz asked.

"Where you think you should be going," Winnie answered icily.

This took Liz aback. "What do you mean?"

"What do you think I mean? Like you don't know. You like David Hannigan." Mercifully, she lowered her voice at this, so David didn't hear her. "But you better stay away from him. He likes me."

Stunned, Liz stepped back, allowing Winnie to pass. Winnie shot one more glare at Liz before following David down the hall. "David, wait!"

Liz silently stepped back into her compartment and shut the door. "Did you talk to David?" said Rachel.

"Yes."

"And you saw Winnie?" said Michael.

Liz sighed. "Yes."

"What did she say?" said Rachel.

"Stay away from David, because he's hers," said Liz, her voice echoing in a hollow sort of way.

Rachel raised an eyebrow. "And what did you say to that?"

Liz stayed silent. "You didn't say anything?" Rachel cried in disbelief.

"She knows," said Liz. "She knows I like David. She told me, and I froze. Is it really that obvious?"

Rachel and Michael looked at each other, then away, both fighting to keep a straight face. Liz glared at them, her eyes narrowed. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," said Michael, his shoulders shaking with silent laughter.

"But I told you two! I've never told her! How can she know?"

"Easy! She uses her eyes," said Rachel. "It really isn't that hard to figure out. But don't worry, you're a lot more likable than—" (here she pulled a face) "—Winnie Chen."

Liz had to admit that was true. She spent the rest of the ride trying to calm herself and re-reading her new Ancient Runes book while Rachel played a Solitaire version of Exploding Snap and Michael finished up his History of Magic summer essay. He tried to pester Liz into helping him, but no such luck. She wouldn't spare a speck of attention for anyone or anything until she had finished re-reading her book cover to cover. Then she told him that the essay was indeed on the goblin rebellion of 1612 and moved on to another book.

When the train neared its destination, they got changed into their robes. The train jerked to a halt, and there was a stampede of black-clad students to get out. Liz, Michael, and Rachel tried to reach the exit before anyone else, but that didn't work. Winnie and her friend Patsy had ran by, stepping on Liz's foot as they went. Liz clenched her teeth and followed, with Rachel and Michael behind her.

"Chris!" she called out. Her friend's head turned toward the sound of her voice, and he spotted them. He yelled back, got permission from Hagrid (who was nearby) first, and ran over to them.

"How are you?" he asked.

"Good," said Rachel. "How are you?"

"Pretty good. The summer was really busy. Hagrid's been working really hard for the Care of Magical Creatures classes."

"Sounds like you've been working really hard too," said Michael.

"Yeah," Chris said, grinning. "Hagrid needs more help now, because he's not exactly young anymore, and I'm getting older too. You know, old enough to be of some real help."

"Look, the last carriage is for us," said Liz. "Well, bye, Chris. We'll see you later."

"C'mon, Chris!" Hagrid yelled from shore. Chris ran toward him while Liz, Rachel, and Michael piled into the carriage and sped off toward the castle.


	4. Professor Armanda

Chapter 4 – Professor Armanda

Almost as soon as Liz, Rachel, and Michael stepped inside the Great Hall, a voice called, "Liz! Liz! Cousin Liz! It's me, Nora!" Liz groaned. It was her dotty cousin Nora Lovegood, who had brought the art of annoyance to perfection. The third-year Hufflepuff came running up to her. "How was your summer? Mine was great. You know how Mathew graduated last year? Well, he joined the DIE league. He says it's an anti-Dragon league. When did you go to Diagon Alley? Last week? We must have just missed you!"

Liz rolled her eyes. Nora was either dreamy and wistful or hyperactive and uncontrolled. "My summer was good, Nora. How was yours?"

"Oh, it was awesome! Dad took me to see where the Quibbler is published! It was amazing!"

At the mention of the Quibbler, Liz decided to end the short conversation. "All right, I've got to go now, Nora. I'll see you around, all right?"

"All right!" Nora exclaimed cheerfully. She hurried to Hufflepuff table, while Liz found a spot at the Gryffindor table next to Rachel and Michael. She waved to David, who waved back.

Professor Longbottom, their Herbology teacher, carried a three-legged stool with a ragged old hat out into the Great Hall. Everyone's eyes were upon it. Then the brim ripped open and the hat began to sing.

"_Welcome back to Hogwarts,_

_the young and old and new._

_If never you've been here before,_

_I'll find a place for you."_

Liz tuned out the rest of the song, instead looking at David, who was now waving to Winnie. She only wanted him because Liz did, and she wanted to make Liz's life miserable. Liz had Emma for that over the summer. Didn't she deserve a reprieve during the school year?

"Liz! Pay attention!" said Rachel. "The Sorting's about to start!"

Liz reluctantly led her attention back to the front of the room. The Sorting Hat was waiting patiently while Professor Longbottom was handing Professor Weasley a long list. Professor Weasley had arrived a few minutes before they had.

"Abernethy, Penny!" she called.

The Sorting Hat's brim ripped open to speak again. "GRYFFINDOR!"

"Arriaga, Kenneth!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

Liz's stomach rumbled as two more boys were Sorted into Slytherin. Then there were three new Hufflepuffs, then two more Slytherins.

"Hello? Ravenclaw?" Rachel muttered to no one in particular.

"Cha, George!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

Rachel reddened and shifted in her seat.

The next new Gryffindor was Victor Dowdy, and the next after him was Harry Ducharme. Liz thought instantly of her father before Katrina Gist became a Hufflepuff.

"Glaser, Dale!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Hamner, Norman!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Holley, Anna!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Hotchkiss, James!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"This is taking forever," said Michael, propping his elbows up on the table. Liz silently agreed. Many children went up, got Sorted, and sat down, and they still weren't very close to the end.

"Risinger, Philip!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Sage, Margarita!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

Finally, at the end, Ellen Wirth became a Ravenclaw and sat down, while Professor McGonagall stood up. "Please, just let us eat," Michael moaned beside Liz. "I'm going to starve to death."

"Welcome back to Hogwarts, everyone," said Professor McGonagall. "Now, I know you are all hungry—"

"Too right we are," Michael muttered.

"—so I won't keep you long. I would just like to announce our newest addition to the staff. Introducing, Professor Dora Magus, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher!"

"There came the sound of polite applause from around the Great Hall. The woman looked cheerful and in her mid-to-late forties. She had black hair that clung tightly around her head and brightly colored clothing. She waved politely to the student body and turned back to McGonagall, who waited patiently for the applause to subside.

"With that, I would like to remind everyone that the Forbidden Forest is out-of-bounds to every single student, regardless of age, House, or magical ability. Let the feast begin!"

The plates magically filled with food, much of which Michael immediately wolfed down. Liz ate as much as she could without violating the laws of etiquette, which Michael was doing blatantly. Rachel was also eating a bit faster than was necessary. Next to her, Bettie was looking at David and sulking.

"I hope she's nice," said Rachel, motioning up at their new teacher. "She seems all right."

"Yeah," said Liz, looking up the woman at the High Table. She was sitting to McGonagall, whose other neighboring seat was filled by Professor Weasley. Next to Professor Magus was tiny Professor Flitwick, who was old and bent even lower with age. Then came Professor Stickler, the Ancient Runes teacher, sitting rigidly in his seat. Professor Longbottom was clumsy, knocking his glass off the table while trying to cut his meat with a fork and knife. And among all the others, Liz spotted someone that she had seen once before and never thought she'd see again. Her jaw dropped.

It was Giselle.

"Rachel, look!" Liz said, pointing. "It's the lady from the jewelry shop!"

Rachel's eyes widened. "Oh, my gosh! What is she doing here?"

"I recognized her! You know, the day we wee in Diagon Alley. She looked familiar to me. What does she teach?"

"Who are you talking about?" said Michael, a lot of food in his mouth and even more on his face.

"Her," said Rachel, pointing. "What do you reckon she teaches?"

"Professor Armanda? She teaches Divination. I only know because Jessica took it and she pointed her out to me once," said Michael. "Why did you want to know? She's been here since we started here. It's not like she's new."

"She was in the jewelry shop we went to in Diagon Alley!" said Rachel. "She said her mother owns it, didn't she?"

"Did Jessica say Divination was rubbish?" Liz asked, thinking of something her mother had written in a letter once.

"No, she says it's great. Professor Armanda is supposedly a wonderful teacher. Jessica aced the Divination O.W.L. because she gave her extra help." He bit into a leg of chicken. "I don't know, it sounds like a lot of fishy guesswork to me." He swallowed, and his Adam's apple bobbed up and down. "That's one reason I opted for Muggle Studies. Maybe I should've done Divination." He chewed thoughtfully.

"This is so weird," said Liz. "I mean, I've never really noticed her before, and then, right after we go to her store, we see her here! Who is she, really?"

Rachel looked up again at Professor Giselle Armanda, who was slicing carefully into a large hunk of meat. "I don't know. She doesn't seem like a fraud."

Michael shrugged and turned back to his food, which he had never really abandoned in the first place.

When the feast was over, a seventh-year prefect told Liz the password so she could open the portrait hole for the rest of her year. "See, you already have a reputation as prefect material," said Rachel as Liz climbed up the stone steps, leading all the Gryffindor Tower. Liz rolled her eyes at this comment and continued.

"Gubraithian fire," she pronounced carefully when they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. The large woman nodded and sung forward on her hinges to allow them access to the common room.

Liz climbed the stairs to the dormitory and flopped on her bed, not heeding the others. Rachel practically emptied her trunk right then and there on her bed, searching for nightclothes. Liz contented herself with kicking off her shoes before she fell asleep.


	5. A Pile of Papers

Chapter 5 – A Pile of Papers

The next day marked the beginning of classes. At breakfast, may people (Rachel and Michael included) started to plan a boycott on classes, but Liz stopped them before it turned serious. This earned her many reproachful glances from less dedicated students than herself.

"It was a good plan. Why did you have to jump in?" Michael said frequently during breakfast. "We could've had Snape trying to beg us to come into class! It would've been great!"

"All right, one: you could've been expelled, two: it _wasn't_ a good plan, and three: can you really see Snape begging you? More likely he would've taken points from you or given you detention."

"But it's nice to dream, isn't it?" Rachel remarked.

"And a lot less nice to actually do it."

Then new schedules were sent down to their end of the table, and Liz scrutinized hers thoroughly. "Defense Against the Dark Arts first," she said. "Then Ancient Runes, then lunch, then Care of magical Creatures, and then…" Her face fell. "Potions."

"Muggle Studies. It never goes away!" said Michael.

"You can drop it after next year, can't you?" said Liz. "I would think about doing that with Potions, but I might need it for whatever career I choose."

"Whatever I choose to be, it's going to have nothing to do with potions," said Rachel. "In no way, shape, or form am I ever dealing with potions after I leave school."

"Me neither," Michael agreed around a mouthful of pancake. Liz grimaced.

They headed to Defense Against the Dark Arts, where most of their classmates were already seated and waiting. When everyone had finally arrived, Professor Magus stood, smiling. "Welcome to a new year of Defense Against the Dark Arts. I'll be your teacher, Professor Magus. Don't worry, I've heard about all your past experiences and I'm determined to make this year as painless as possible."

"Does that mean no homework?" Michael asked hopefully. The majority of the class laughed.

"No, Mr. Weasley, it doesn't," she said with a wry grin. "But I'm hoping to make this class more fun than work."

"Sounds good to me," Rachel muttered to Liz.

"All right, please take out your wands, and we'll start learning a couple of curses to use against an enemy," said Professor Magus.

Liz raised her eyebrows and her hand. "Um, Professor Magus? Not to be disrespectful or anything, but isn't this class about _defense_?"

"Well—" Professor Magus scanned the class list. "Miss Elizabeth Potter? Do you go by anything else?"

No teacher had ever asked Liz that before. It wasn't as if Professor Magus was lowering herself to Liz's level; it was as if she was raising Liz to her level. "My friends call me Liz," she answered.

"Well, then, Liz, I think that sometimes offense is the best defense. It's better to curse your enemies before they have a chance to curse you."

Liz nodded. That made sense.

"So I'm going to teach you a simple curse called the Jelly Legs Curse. It's one of my favorites, very useful when people you don't like need to learn a lesson, you know what I mean?" Her eyes sparkled with silent laughter. Liz thought briefly that maybe she could use it on Winnie. "Say it with me: Iniosa."

"Iniosa," chorused the class.

"Very good. Now form a line and each of you try it on me." Surprise was written all over many of the faces in the class, including Liz, Rachel and Michael. Professor Magus grinned. "Don't worry, I know the counter curse. Go ahead, Desiree, give it a try."

Desiree stepped up, her wand hand shaking. _"Iniosa!"_ she cried. Their teacher's legs didn't move. They didn't even give a wobble.

"It's okay. Try again," said Professor Magus. Desiree looked surprised. Any other teacher would have told her to go to the back of the line, but Professor Magus nodded and motioned for her go on. Desiree tried again, and this time Professor Magus nearly fell over because her legs were so unstable. She laughed and performed the counter curse on herself. "Good job, Desiree. Next?"

The class went on and on, and everyone got a turn. Liz, of course, had used the spell before and got it on the first try. Most the others took two or three or maybe four tries to get it down. Then the bell rang, and Liz left Rachel and Michael to head over to Ancient Runes.

The only person already there was a fourth-year Ravenclaw, Amy Donofrio, whom Liz had frequently talked to in Ancient Runes the previous year. The two discussed their summers until the rest of the class filtered in, David and Bettie included. Then Professor Stickler entered. "Get off the desk," he said to a Slytherin who was perched on top of one of the tables. The boy hopped off, muttering furiously under his breath.

"Welcome," he said rigidly, "to another year of Ancient Runes. If you are here, congratulations are in order. You passed your first final exam, but there are two more, an O.W.L., and a N.E.W.T. to go."

"So encouraging," said Amy. Professor Stickler's eyes flashed toward her, and she sank in her chair.

They spent the entire class on an introduction to Ximunim, a language derived from the Ancient Runes. It had a grammatical pattern like none Liz had ever seen, which made translation extremely difficult, according to the textbook. Liz felt she would like this. She enjoyed a challenge.

The bell rang and everyone, having forgotten Professor Stickler's rule, stood to leave. "So you're not so elite after all! Sit. I dismiss the class, not the bell. So—"

There came a knock on the door. It was Professor Magus, who waved timidly. "Hello, Leonard. I was wondering if I could talk to you for a tiny bit. Do you mind?"

"I have a class," he said firmly.

"But the bell rang! Don't they have another class to go to?"

Professor Stickler glared at her with a murderous glint in his eye. "Fine," he said through clenched teeth. "You may leave, class."

The class rushed to pack up and leave. Liz took her time, curious to hear what Professor Magus wanted to talk to Professor Stickler about. And _his name was Leonard?_

"Nice weather we're having, eh, Lenny?" Professor Magus said cheerfully.

"I prefer if you'd call me Leonard."

"Ah." Professor Magus nodded, looking around the room. Her gaze landed on a stack of papers on his desk. "Your desk is very messy. Don't you ever clean it up?" She made to lean on the desk, but she missed and fell over, knocking the stack of papers onto the floor. "Sorry, dead clumsy of me, I'll pick it up." She scrambled around, picking up four or five sheets at a time. But Liz noticed her stick quite a few of the papers in her robes. "There, all better."

"What are you still doing here, Miss Potter? Please be on your way," said Professor Stickler. Liz rushed to pack the rest of her things. Professor Magus grinned mischievously, which looked quite odd on a middle-aged woman. Liz smiled back and left before Professor Stickler could get after her for anything else. Footsteps behind her told her that Professor Magus left almost directly after her.

Liz almost asked her about Professor Stickler's papers, but then she realized that if she delayed any longer, she wouldn't have time to eat lunch. She made for the Great Hall, where Rachel and Michael were waiting for her.

"So why are you so late?" Michael asked her.

"Professor Magus was talking to Professor Stickler."

"About you?" said Rachel.

"No, but I wanted to listen to what they were saying."

Rachel waited for a second before speaking again. "And what were they talking about?"

"The weather and how messy his desk is."

"How interesting," said Rachel, rolling her eyes. "A conversation worth listening to, huh?" She went back to her lunch, while Liz contemplated how to tell her and Michael about Professor Stickler's papers. They'd think she was being paranoid and stressed out from the first day of classes. Maybe she was. Maybe her eyes had been playing tricks on her. Maybe she was jumping to conclusions.

After lunch, they headed down to Care of Magical Creatures. Chris met up with them halfway there. "I have to teach for the first half of class. Hagrid's filling out the annual paperwork."

Paperwork. This prompted Liz to say it. "I need to tell you three something."

"What is it?" said Chris.

"It's about Professor Magus."

"Was she asking what Stickler's favorite food was?" said Michael, sniggering.

"No, but I think she took some of his papers."

Rachel looked skeptical, so Liz proceeded to explain all the details. Michael and Rachel were still slightly doubtful, but Chris believed her. "That is weird," he said.

Liz nodded, thinking. It was, indeed, weird.


	6. Magic Overload

Chapter 6 – Magic Overload

After about a week, Liz decided that Professor Magus and the paper stealing had no sinister motives and pushed it out of mind. Professor Magus was too good of a teacher to be an enemy of any sort. She was really funny, and she could explain a lot of things better than Garb, Nilworg, or Pumjy ever could. And she gave them more than enough time to finish assignments.

One day, not too long after term had started, Professor Magus stood and faced the class. "I'm going to be assigning you a paper of at least five rolls of parchment." Most of the class looked suddenly outraged. "That's the bad news," she continued. "The good news is that it won't be due until Halloween." Most of the class perked up. "This means that I expect you to do an excellent job on these. Be creative with it."

Liz raised her hand. "What is the paper on?"

"Oh, that's right, I forgot to tell you the topic! I was thinking about how the Dragon is trying to raise himself into power, and where did he get the idea? From Voldemort. So I expect five rolls of parchment, turned in on Halloween, about Voldemort. That's such a broad subject that I'm sure you'll find all the information you need. Write to relatives and see what they remember of him! Older relatives, of course." The bell rang. "Class dismissed."

"Older relatives?" said Michael as they left. "My mum remembers Voldemort. She's forty. Is that what Professor Magus considers old?"

Liz stayed silent. Reading up on Voldemort would mean reading up on her father. It was painful to think about him or even read about him. What would have happened if her father had lived? For one thing, her mother would not be forced to send her secret letters, which she hadn't done for a while.

"I suggest we start on this tomorrow," said Liz, gathering up her strength of will. "We can go to the library and do research."

"What for? The project isn't due until Halloween," said Michael. "We have over a month. Why start now?"

"So we can do a great job on it," said Liz. "And get it done on time. Didn't you hear her when she said that it was going to be five rolls of parchment?"

Michael shrugged. "So? I can just interview my mum. She knew your dad. She knows everything about Voldemort, even what his real name was."

"Michael, everyone knows what his name was."

"But she knew it before almost everybody else, so that counts as special knowledge."

"Just please come with me? I might help you a bit."

This caught Michael's attention, and Rachel's as well. "All right, we'll go," said Rachel. "As long as you help us. Won't we, Michael?"

"Fine," he said.

So the next day, the three of them set off for the library to read up on Voldemort. But every time Liz found an article, a passage, or a book about him, she thought of her father and her heart throbbed. She finally sat down with parchment and quill to write down what she knew by heart, but even that was impossible.

"Michael, what are you reading?" Rachel asked suddenly. "That's Liz's dad's picture on the front."

"It's Harry Potter: A Biography," Michael said. "It has loads of stuff on Voldemort, you know, because he defeated him." He turned a page. "Look, Liz, it's you!"

Liz looked to see a picture of her house. Standing outside of it was Harry Potter, about twenty-seven, and his lovely wife Luna, completely in love with life. Luna was carrying a bundle of blankets with a head. On closer inspection, Liz could see that it was a baby. Her. She looked away, blinking back tears.

"Are you all right?" Rachel asked, sensing a disturbance.

Liz nodded, not trusting her voice. A flame had lit inside her, a flame of anger and of tears, which resulted from so much exposure to dead memories. She felt despair and anger and heat at the same time—

"Do you smell something burning?" Rachel asked.

The power was back.

Liz had felt the strength that always accompanied a burst of uncontrolled magic. It wasn't strong enough to cause a catastrophe, except for fire. Then Liz spotted it.

"Michael, your hair is on fire!"

Michael yelled and stood. The librarian shushed him and then spotted the potential disaster. Rachel was in hysterics, and Michael was running around like a maniac. Liz whipped out her wand and said, _"Aqueosa!"_ A jet of water burst from her wand and hit the flame that had burst from her heart to Michael's head. The fire went out instantly.

All three of them stood there, breathing heavily, all eyes on them. "What was that?" Michael panted. From the look on her face, the librarian was wondering the same thing.

"I'll explain later," Liz said. "Come on, let's leave." Michael quickly checked out her father's biography and they left.

"Well?" said Michael. "Explain to me why you set my head on fire? And how?"

"I—It was an accident. I think my powers are starting to come back!"

"Well—could you warn me next time, or something?"

"She never knows when it's going to happen," said Rachel appeasingly, trying to calm Michael down. "It's a random thing. Maybe we should study in the common room.

Liz and Michael both agreed, and the three of them traipsed back up to Gryffindor Tower.

* * *

It was near the end of September, and the deadline for the paper on Voldemort for Professor Magus was a month away. Uncharacteristically, Liz hadn't started yet. It was just too painful to think about her father enough to work on it. So Liz prayed she'd find the strength of will soon, or she'd have nothing come Halloween.

Ancient Runes, particularly the unit on Ximunim, was going well. Liz hadn't lost any points from Gryffindor in that class at all (which was a different story entirely from Potions), and she had managed to talk to David almost every time they had class. Unfortunately, Winnie had too. The competition was at a stalemate, and Liz really didn't know what to do.

The issue of Professor Armanda didn't surface in Liz's mind until one day in Transfiguration at the end of class when Professor McGonagall came in to ask Professor Weasley something about scheduled staff breaks. Liz had made a mental note previously to ask Professor McGonagall about the Divination teacher. Now she saw her chance. When the bell rang, she left Rachel and Michael and hurried out to meet her. "Professor McGonagall!" she called. "Professor McGonagall! I need to ask you something!"

The headmistress turned to face her. "Yes, Elizabeth, what's the matter?"

"Do you know Professor Armanda, the Divination teacher?"

McGonagall sighed. "Yes, Elizabeth. I hired her."

Liz felt embarrassed. "Oh. Well, quite frankly, why?"

"Because she is most certainly a qualified teacher and Seer. He prophecies are very rarely false. She's predicted flood, criminal breakouts…and your power."

Liz blanched. _"She_ made my prophecy? The one that connected me to the Ancient Runes? Why didn't you tell me this before?" Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow at this impertinence, so Liz tacked on a very solemn, "Professor."

"Because I didn't see a need to tell you. What good would it have done you then? What good will it do you now? You know who made the prophecy? Will that really affect your thoughts, your feelings, your actions, or your future? Tell me if it will."

Liz stayed silent. Professor McGonagall was right. What would it do? It made no difference whether she knew or not, except that it lifted a weight that had been on her chest since she had seen Giselle, or Professor Armanda, at the High Table on their first night back. "No, Professor McGonagall. It won't make a difference this way. I'm sorry."

"There is really no need to apologize, Elizabeth," said McGonagall. "You were just curious. But curiosity killed the kneazle. Well, now that we are on the subject of your prophecy, how have your powers been lately? I told you last summer that they might have run out, correct?"

"Yes. Over the summer, they shut off, but they started back after a while. Then, a while ago, I…accidentally set Michael's hair on fire in the library."

"Ah, yes, the librarian told me about that incident. I'm glad you told me of your own free will, Elizabeth. Now I'll leave you to your thoughts and your next class. Have a good day." And she walked off, her head held high. Liz watched her go and wondered at her words.


	7. Ancient Runes Assignment

Chapter 7 – Ancient Runes Assignment

October had come in full swing, bringing cold air and plenty of homework with it. It became a custom at lunch to get a head start on homework due the next day (which Liz was pleased to see). She went along with it, too, if only for the sake of having some free time in the evenings. One particular day, a couple of weeks into October, she sat with Rachel and Michael, listening to Rachel's Wizard's Wireless, working on homework for Muggle Studies and Ancient Runes. Suddenly Michael threw down his quill and sat back in his seat, staring at his assignment moodily.

"What is it?" Rachel asked.

"It's Muggle Studies," he said.

"What about it?" asked Liz.

He turned to face her. "It's boring and a waste of time! How could someone ever come up with a stupider class? What's the point? I think I'm going to die of boredom here!"

"Why not just quit Muggle Studies and switch to something else?" Liz suggested. 'You could do Ancient Runes, or Arithmancy, or even Divination."

He looked at her, and then Liz thought she saw him glance backwards. But then he was staring her full in the face. "No. I mean, I don't think so. I mean, you hate Professor Stickler, don't you?"

"I don't hate him," Liz retorted. Michael gave her a skeptical look. "I just dislike him with a passion. There's a difference."

"And Arithmancy sounds too hard. Magic numbers or something. And Divination? Jessica likes it. That's a very good reason _not_ to do it. So I guess I'm stuck with Muggles Studies."

"It may be boring, Michael," said Rachel, "but it's not that bad."

The Wizarding Wireless crackled into the spot of prominent attention. All three of them looked at it, as if expecting to see some sort of television program with it. However, all they heard was a sharp, clear voice issuing from the magic radio, saying, "Apologies or the interruption, but we have breaking news. The wizarding world's most noted and experienced Ancient Runes expert, Philip Meyers, has been reported missing. He disappeared last night from his home in Bristol while reportedly working on a new section of the Ancient Runes found recently in a cave near the rest. Suspected is the Dragon, a man who was attempted to take over Hogwarts twice in the last three years and supposedly came again last year. Stay tuned for updates on this breaking story. And now we continue with your regularly scheduled broadcast."

Liz, Rachel, and Michael all looked up, the same fearful expression on each of their faces. "The Dragon?" Rachel repeated. "How could he just stroll in and kidnap an Ancient Runes expert?"

"And why an Ancient Runes expert?" asked Michael, switching off Rachel's Wizarding Wireless.

"This is strange," said Liz.

They thought about this for a second, and then they all turned back to their homework with very somber expressions.

* * *

Liz was late for class. Her magically enhanced alarm clock hadn't gone off, she couldn't find her robes, and the Great Hall had been closed when she got there, so she hadn't eaten since dinner last night. And to top it all off, her first class of the day was Ancient Runes. Professor Stickler would take points from Gryffindor because of her tardiness for sure. Her stomach rumbling, she practically threw herself through his classroom door.

"So nice of you to join us, Miss Potter," said Professor Stickler, sitting coolly at his desk. "You know my rule about tardiness. Ten minutes late, therefore ten points from Gryffindor. Please take a seat."

Liz sat, not wishing to cause any more problems. Considering the circumstances, she had done pretty well. Only ten minutes late. If Professor Stickler had known everything she had gone through…but he probably wouldn't have cared anyway.

"Today," Professor Stickler said, "I will be assigning a project. A partner project." He kept one eye on Liz, as if convinced that she would produce more signs of rule breaking. "And I am in a very good mood today, so I have decided to let you choose your own partners. One more thing, before you cause a racket," he added. "We have a new student, who has decided to switch into our class from Arithmancy." He beamed, obviously pleased. "You may come in now, Miss Chen."

_No,_ Liz thought. _It can't be._

"Class, say hello to Winnie Chen."

Liz sank into her chair. This was horrible. To her right, David was grinning like a maniac, and Winnie was smiling back. She took the seat directly in front of Liz, smiling smugly but never looking at her. Professor Stickler was beaming at his new students, who had shown him great loyalty by dropping Arithmancy. "All right, now you may choose your partner."

Liz looked at Winnie, who didn't move. If she wasn't going to ask David, then Liz was. She stood and headed toward his seat. He was coming towards her too. "David, I—" And he blew right past her.

Shocked, Liz turned to hear him saying, "Winnie, would you like to be my partner?"

"Sure," said Winnie, grinning wickedly at Liz. Liz felt like crying, but that would only make Winnie make fun of her more. So she went back to her seat, biting her lip.

"Do want to partner with me?" said Amy Donofrio.

"Sure," Liz sighed. There was no one else to do it with anyway.

Professor Stickler gave them the assignment, and Liz thought briefly about the Defense Against the Dark Arts essay that she still hadn't started. She'd have to close her heart so she could read about her father. They spent the rest of the class assigning duties for each partner's half of the project. Then the bell rang, and Liz hurried out to meet Rachel and Michael for Care of Magical Creatures.

"How was Muggle Studies?" she asked them dully.

"Boring, as usual," said Michael.

"Well, now I know for certain you can switch classes," Liz told him. "Guess who switched from Arithmancy into Ancient Runes today."

"Not Winnie Chen," Rachel said immediately and doubtfully. "She wouldn't."

"And yet she did." Liz sighed. "I thought I'd have one class with David and without Winnie, but no. What did I do to deserve this?"

They reached Hagrid's cabin, where most of the class had already gathered, including Winnie. She tossed her hair and gave an evil winning look to Liz. Liz looked away, trying to concentrate on Hagrid's door, willing her power to set Winnie's hair on fire as it had done to Michael's.

Their task for this class period was to feed a Kneazle. Liz was usually very good at Care of Magical Creatures, but today she wasn't ten minutes into the class before the Kneazle dug its claws into her arm, and Chris had to take her into Hagrid's cabin for a bandage.

"You seem to be a bit…preoccupied," said Chris. "Anything going on? Is something wrong?"

"Nothing," Liz said, maybe a little too quickly. They both fell silent while Liz struggled to get the bandage on her right arm using her left hand. Finally Chris took it from her and applied it. Almost immediately, it bled though, so Chris went in the back to get another, better one. Liz followed him.

"Do you really want me to tell you?" she asked finally.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," he answered, fumbling with materials from Hagrid's medicine cabinet.

"But would you actually listen and care?" Liz asked. "Because you asked about it."

"Fine." He sat down at the table. "Tell me."

"Shouldn't I go back to class?" she said.

Chris looked out the window. "Looks like Hagrid's trying to help Patsy Casarez with her kneazle. He'll be outside for a while. Tell me."

So Liz spilled her guts, and told him everything from her encounters with David and Winnie on the train to Winnie's sudden unexpected appearance in Ancient Runes earlier that day. "And he went and asked _her_, and she knows I like him and that's why she's going after him." She was almost in tears by this time, but she didn't want Chris to see her cry either, so she stared determinedly at the ceiling. Chris stood up and said, "I really don't know what to say. But David is really doing the wrong thing completely. Winnie is a horrible person, and you're not."

Liz sighed and swallowed her tears. "Thanks, Chris. I better get back to class. Rachel and Michael will have noticed by now."

"Wait, Liz. Don't you want your bandage?" Chris said.

"Oh. Right." She let him put it on her arm, and this time it didn't bleed through. "Thanks," she said. "Come on, class is probably over by now."

They headed outside, where Patsy's kneazle had refused to detach from her head. She was running around, wildly smashing most of Hagrid's garden. He was chasing her, yelling for her to calm down so he could pry it off, but she wasn't listening. Liz was able to slip back out unnoticed.

"Where were you for so long?" Michael said.

"Inside," said Liz evasively. "The first bandage bled through so we had to get another one."

Michael nodded and accepted this. Hagrid dismissed the class very soon after, but he forced Patsy to stay so he could get the Kneazle off of her. Chris waved goodbye and helped Hagrid hold Patsy down until the catlike creature finally came off.


	8. Quidditch and a Manuscript

Chapter 8 – Quidditch and a Manuscript

"All right, everyone, please pass forward your Voldemort essays," said Professor Magus.

It was Defense Against the Dark Arts on Halloween. Professor Magus was collecting their Voldemort essay, and Liz didn't have it. Luckily, she sat in the front, so no one sat in front of her to ask her to pass it up. She handed her row's pile of parchment rolls to the teacher, who smiled graciously at her and took them. She told them that they could have some time to finish Monday's assignment while she made sure everyone had turned them in. Liz could see her face go taut when she came to Liz's name on the roster and found no essay.

When the bell rang, everyone got up excitedly. Rachel and Michael were talking about how great their essays had been. "Liz, may I speak to you for a moment?" said Professor Magus. Liz told Rachel and Michael that she'd catch up to them and advanced to Professor Magus's desk.

"Liz, I read your essay, it was wonderful," said Professor Magus. Liz was completely bewildered until Professor Magus looked up. "Bettie, is there something you need?"

Liz saw Bettie, obviously lingering to see if Liz was in any trouble. "Oh, no, I was just leaving," Bettie said quickly. She glanced one more time at Liz and left.

"As I was saying, Liz," said Professor Magus, "you essay would have been wonderful if you had turned it in. Did you forget or something?"

Liz sighed. "No, Professor. I—I couldn't do it. I tried, I really did, but I couldn't. I kept thinking of my father."

An understanding expression lit Professor Magus's face. "I see. Well, I can't let you off that easy, but I won't force you to do the Voldemort essay. I'll give you one on…Animagi. Yes, five rolls of parchment on Animagi, and I'll give you two weeks to do it. Is that all right?"

"That's more than enough. I could probably finish it in one week. Thank you so much."

Her teacher grinned. "You're welcome. Now hurry on, or you'll be late for your next class."

"All right. Oh, and Professor?" Liz asked. "Thanks for covering for me in front of Bettie."

"It was no problem," Professor Magus responded.

Liz turned to leave, but something caught her eye. It was a messy stack of papers. Then she realized where she had seen it before: They were the papers Professor Magus had taken from Professor Stickler's desk. Without thinking, Liz asked, "What are those?"

"Those?" Professor Magus asked.

"Yes. Did you take them from Professor Stickler?" Liz mentally kicked herself. She had a big mouth, didn't she?

Professor Magus looked taken aback. "Well, yes, I did, actually. I don't believe Leonard really knew what it was. I don't either, to tell you the truth, but I think I have a better idea than that old coot did. I've been trying to read it, but I can't make heads or tails of it."

"What do you know about it?" Liz said, taking a look at the top sheet on the stack. It had squiggly markings on it that looked familiar to Liz. "It's written in the Ancient Runes!"

"That's what I thought too," said Professor Magus. "But it's not exact. There are so many differences in these and the real Ancient Runes that it has to be translated manually, I just don't have the time." She sat back in her chair, surveying her cluttered desk. "I guess I'll never know what it says."

Liz's wheels were turning. She could almost feel a light bulb go on over her head. "I could do it," she offered excitedly. "I have plenty of free time, and I take Ancient Runes, so I'm familiar with the symbols. Just—Professor Stickler isn't mad at you for taking them, is he?"

"I doubt he knows they're gone," said Professor Magus. "I would be very grateful if you helped me out, Liz. But are you sure? This could be extremely time-consuming. Don't you want to focus on your studies?"

"I have plenty of free time, Professor," Liz answered. "Let me help."

"All right, Liz. And thank you. What class do you have next?"

"I have Charms."

"I better write Professor Flitwick a note explaining why you're late for class." She scribbled on a piece of parchment and handed it to Liz. 'There. Run along, and thank you again!"

Liz hurried out, clutching the papers in her hand and stuffing them into her bag. Professor Magus's next class, the Slytherin seventh-years, stood outside the door, impatiently waiting for their teacher to finish. Most of them sneered at Liz as she passed, and she dropped her gaze. She had made sure that Professor Magus wasn't causing trouble when she took the papers, and now she had volunteered to decode them. This was going to take some work.

* * *

The Halloween feast took place later in the day, so Liz couldn't start working on the manuscript that night. And the next few days were too busy to do much extra on anything. Finally, when she had some free time, she decided to postpone the manuscript and begin on her Animagi essay. She had gotten the idea from Michael interview someone, and the obvious choice was his mother, the Transfiguration teacher. After Transfiguration class, she stayed behind to ask Professor Weasley a few questions.

"What do you need?" Professor Weasley asked.

"Well, I'm doing an essay on Animagi, and I thought I'd ask you a few questions, since you're the only Animagi I know."

"I'd be happy to, Liz! What do you need to know?"

"Well, in first-year you showed us that you could be two different animals, and you said there was only one other person who could do it. Who was it?"

Professor Weasley sighed and looked away, into the far reaches of the universe. When she finally came up with an answer, she said, "Your father."

Liz seized up. Could she never get away from her father's memory? It only caused grief and heartache. She uttered a hurried thank you and left, mentally vowing to do the assignment the old-fashioned way and research in the library.

After class that day, she finished the entire essay in one go in the library. She decided that it would be less embarrassing to hand it in now than to hand it in during class tomorrow, so she thanked the librarian and hurried out.

Professor Magus was grading the rest of the class's essays when Liz entered. "Hello, Professor," Liz said tentatively. "I have my essay."

"Early, as usual," quipped her teacher, taking it from her. "Did you learn anything in the process?"

"I learned not to interview people," Liz said automatically.

"And why is that?"

"I asked Professor Weasley who she knew was a double Animagus like she is and she said it was my father."

Professor Magus smiled empathetically. "I thought you might come across that in your research. I'm surprised no one's told you before. Hermione, or Ron—"

"Wait. Did you know my father?" asked Liz suddenly.

"What makes you say that?"

"You just make it sound like you did."

"No, I didn't know him," she said shortly. "Thank you for turning in your essay on time. I've got lots of work to do, so you may leave." And she turned again to her cluttered desk. Liz left, glad to be done with the essay, but now questions had presented themselves to her. She pondered them all the way up to Gryffindor Tower.

* * *

"First Quidditch match of the season, today at eleven!" Michael shouted to the common room. "Who's going to be there?"

"ME!" the entire Gryffindor Tower responded.

"I'll see you there!" Michael called out, and then he turned to Liz and Rachel. "This is fun!"

"You mean this is stupid," said Liz. "You're embarrassing yourself. Do you have to announce it like that?"

Michael ignored this. "Are you coming?" he asked Liz. Rachel leaned in to listen.

"Every game I always say no, and you two make me go anyway," Liz said. "So this time I'm just going to say yes and be done with it."

Rachel and Michael cheered.

At eleven that morning, Liz and Rachel followed the crowds of students from all Houses out to the Quidditch field, where the flying teacher, Oliver Wood, was waiting for the teams to suit up. It was to be Gryffindor versus Slytherin, the two most rivaled teams in school, most likely since Liz's father's day.

"Welcome!" yelled Josh Lepress, a Gryffindor who regularly did the commentating. This would be his last year, since he was in his seventh year. "Before the teams come out, I'd like to go over additions to the teams. For Gryffindors, Viola Bautista and Stephen Fancher replace Celeste Weaver and Mitchell Mikey, Chasers. Keeper Sarah McGuire has succeeded Weaver as Captain. Beater Stephanie Allen has been replaced by Beverley Castor. On to the Slytherins! Travis Brace is replacing Ronald Cloyd as Chaser, and Beaters Jesse Grillo and Donald Hartung replaced Sheri Goodall and Bobby Raby. The new captain, in place of Raby, is Chaser Julie Bourden. And here come our teams now!"

The players spilled out onto the field, silver and green clashing with red and gold. They mounted their brooms after McGuire and Bourden shook hands, and took off at Wood's whistle.

Almost immediately, Michael caught sight of the Snitch, and Andrew Bawfield, the Slytherin Seeker, followed him. They weaved in and out of the other players as Julie Bourden scored on Sarah McGuire. Most of the spectators were more interested in the Seekers than the goal posts. Every head turned in the same direction at the same time, watching Michael and Andrew's progress. In the meantime, Viola Bautista scored three times on Slytherin Keeper Martin Steward and no one noticed.

"There—he's reaching," said Rachel. "He's got it!"

"He's got it! I don't believe it!" yelled Josh from the microphone. "Michael Weasley catches the Snitch! Gryffindor wins, one hundred eighty to ten!"

"I believe that qualifies as the quickest Quidditch match ever," Liz said to Rachel as they left. "Josh's commentary was longer than the game itself."

"You can say that again," Rachel agreed.

They headed to the portrait of the Fat Lady, told her the password ("Waddiwasi"), and entered. Rachel wanted to stay in the quickly filling common room for the eminent celebration, but Liz opted for some homework time in the dormitory. She climbed the stairs, thinking of the manuscript she still hadn't begun to decode yet.

Waiting for her in the dorm was her mother's white owl. Someone had left the window open, and now it was perched on Liz's desk, pecking at her Herbology book. "No! Don't do that," said Liz. She put the owl n the windowsill and took the letter. "You can go now," she told the owl. It flew off into the pale autumn sky, leaving Liz to rip open the letter. She read:

Dear Elizabeth,

It's your mother again. Since it's your fourth-year, I wanted to write to you about how I met your father in my fourth-year, in great detail.

Liz stared disbelievingly at the letter, and then ripped it to shreds. She could _never_ get away from her father's memory, _ever!_ Everywhere she looked, it was Harry Potter this, Harry Potter that, your father and I met in fourth-year so I'm going to cause you grief by telling you about it. Could no one understand that it only caused her pain to think about what might have been if he had lived?

After the letter was sufficiently mutilated, Liz fell onto her bed. Eventually she began to regain her rationality. She would probably want that letter in the future. She gathered the pieces and said, _"Reparo."_ The fragments flew back together. Without reading the letter, she folded it up and put it in her drawer. Maybe she'd read it later, when it didn't hurt so much. But then, when would it ever stop hurting? Her father was dead. She could either ignore the fact or face it. For now, she chose to ignore it, but she was sure it would show itself and force her to deal with it. Until then, she'd leave it alone as best she could.

With a sigh, Liz began on her homework.


	9. The Bracelet

A/N: Okay for the manuscript it didn't format right so pretend that there are tons of little stars in between the letters in the manuscript...I'll look into fixing that. Thanks!

Chapter 9 – The Bracelet

"All right, class dismissed. Remember, practice those counter curses for tomorrow, and I'll see you then," said Professor Magus after the bell rang.

It was another day, sometime in the end of November, at the end of a Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Before Liz left, Professor Magus beckoned her up to the desk. "How is your—ah—research coming?" she asked.

"Oh. I've been really busy, and I haven't started yet," Liz replied. "But I'll do it soon. I'll start tonight."

"You don't have to. Take your time."

Liz nodded and left, going outside where Rachel and Michael were waiting for her so they could go to Potions. Rachel suggested skipping class to practice for Defense Against the Dark Arts, but Liz shot the idea down instantly. Snape would find out somehow.

That night, after classes were done and homework was finished, Liz took her bag with the manuscript in it and made for the library, particularly the Ancient Runes section. She took piles of books from the shelves and spread them out on a table. Then she set to work. She had to look up the Ancient Runes she believed resembled the figures most. It took her two hours just to translate the letters A, B, and C, and all of the punctuation, which was the easy part. Then she plugged it into the manuscript, and it looked something like this:

a aaa . a a. a b , c, a a b c ca . A a ac Cab c, a ccb a . a c a a Aaa bac. B , a , a ac . ba cab .

a a c c, aa Ac c, c a a. , a a a, a a ac.

a , a a b a a a a, a a a, "C , a, c !" . a a, a a . a a Aaa aaa a.

a a a aa, a . A a a . a a, b a a bac a a a. a a a a b c.

Ca ac. aaa

Liz stared at the rows upon rows of blanks, occasionally punctuated by an A, B, or C. This hadn't helped at all. She was three steps closer on a road with twenty-six steps, and right now she couldn't walk anymore. It was nearly nine o'clock, and she had to be back in Gryffindor Tower before that time. She packed up all her things, returned the books to the shelves, and left, making sure no one had seen her. Professor Magus probably wouldn't appreciate it much if the whole school knew about the secret manuscript. She made it back just in time, and spent the rest of the evening studying her Ancient Runes book, not for class, but for clues as to where to go next.

* * *

Cold weather was approaching. Hogwarts received its first snow of the season on the sixth of December. Liz left the warmth of the common room fireplace to go outside and enjoy the icy fun that the other students were having. She, Rachel, and Michael started a snowball fight, which turned into an all-out war between the first-year Gryffindors and Ravenclaws. The only one of the fourth-years who didn't join in was Bettie Hess, who sat dejectedly on the sidelines. Even Liz noticed, though she was inclined not to care. Cathy Taw, one of the Ravenclaws, got Liz three times, and Clarence Lattimore got her twice. Liz retaliated by enchanting half the Gryffindors' stock of snowballs to chase them around the courtyard as they screamed and yelled. Soon it was she and Alberta's job to charm all the snowballs they could gather to do the same to the entire Ravenclaw team.

"We're winning! Yeah, we're winning!" Michael yelled, throwing five snowballs at once. Only one met a target.

"Throw better," John Peterson told him, hitting Steve Knudson, Roger Koontz, and Kristine Whitesell all at the same time.

"Throw better," Michael mimicked. He launched another snowball. It hit a tree. This had the upside of shaking loose all the snow that the tree had accumulated during the day and showering it on the other team's fort. Michael beamed.

"Nice aim," Rachel told him, grinning.

Robert Sorenson and Thomas Needham were using spells to strengthen the Gryffindor fort, which someone had decorated with a Gryffindor banner. A lion reared and roared on it, growling and gnashing its perfectly white and pointy teeth. Rachel and Desiree were working on collecting snow, and then delivering it to Liz and Alberta. Only Keith Dircks, John, and Michael were throwing snowballs at the opposing team, but Liz and Alberta were emptying the courtyard of snow to make their flying version.

"Wait! How many of them are there?" Liz yelled to Alberta over the war cries.

"How many what? Snowballs?"

"No!" Liz began, but was smacked in the face by an enemy snowball. When it was all off her face, she said, "Count the Ravenclaws! How many are there?"

It took Alberta a couple of seconds, but she finally answered, "Eight."

"And there's supposed to be ten!"

"Who's missing?"

"I see Kristine—"

"—and Cathy—"

"—and Clarence—"

"—and Amy—"

"—and Steve—"

"—and Roger—"

"—and Ida—"

"—and Curtis—"

"So who's missing?" Liz said.

"Who else is there?" said Alberta.

Liz thought for a moment. "Andrew and Monica! Where'd they go?"

"Who are they?" Alberta asked, squinting through the blinding snow.

"Andrew Altamirano and Monica Engle! He's kind of skinny with sandy blonde hair, and she has tanned skin and really short black hair. They're not that hard to miss."

"Look, there they are!" Alberta cried, pointing. The two Ravenclaws were scurrying across the field, carrying between them a large basket filled with snow. Green snow. "What's that they have?"

"Don't let it in! Don't let it in!" Liz shrieked, diving to the ground. Everyone around her was completely bewildered until one of the green-colored snowballs thrust itself forcefully into Alberta's mouth and she froze. The snowballs had something in them to stop the Gryffindors in their tracks. Monica and Andrew pelted snowball after snowball at the Gryffindor players, who did their best to dodge them. Michael grabbed a broken tree branch and whacked plenty of snowballs, which caused them to burst and spray their contents all over the people underneath. When those people were standing there, looking skyward with their mouths agape, the result was exactly what the Ravenclaws had intended it to be. Soon only John Peterson and Liz were left. Monica and Andrew advanced on them. There was no hope left for a peaceful surrender. Liz and John ran screaming away from them. Then suddenly there was no one chasing them. Liz turned. Bettie had enchanted the snow, not only to pelt itself at the Ravenclaws after it was made into balls, but also to make itself into balls. Soon the entire Ravenclaw team was defeated, and Liz removed the spells from her fellow Gryffindors. Andrew Altamirano, who had been leading the Ravenclaws, surrendered. By the time everything had calmed, Bettie was back on her bench, looking downcast again. Liz approached her.

"Thanks."

"It wasn't for you. Gryffindor pride."

"Thanks anyway. Do you mind me asking what's wrong?"

"Yes," Bettie said coldly. Liz had thought that maybe she was ready to give up the grudge, but obviously she had been wrong. She followed Bettie's gaze, which was directed at another bench where two people were sitting. David and Winnie. They were talking and holding hands. Then David kissed Winnie quickly on the lips. And Winnie was wearing the bracelet, the one Liz had seen him buy in Professor Armanda's shop.

"This is the only time I'll ever agree with you," said Bettie.


	10. Behind Closed Doors

Chapter 10 – Behind Closed Doors

Liz was devastated. David was the only boy she had ever really liked, and now he was dating her worst enemy, besides the Dragon. Rachel and Michael had seen it too, and Rachel was determined to cheer Liz up. So Liz found herself, trying to do homework, with Rachel pestering her every few seconds and WWN playing music in the background.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Rachel, how many times do I have to tell you? I don't want to talk about it, all right? Why should I care if David kissed Winnie? Why should it matter to me?"

"Because! Look at you! You're heartbroken!"

Liz snorted. "I hardly think heartbroken is the word for it."

"Listen, it's a news broadcast!" said Michael, leaning in to listen to the Wizarding Wireless.

"Stop playing news! IT'S A MUSIC CHANNEL!" Rachel yelled at the device.

"Breaking news, wizarding world," said the announcer. "As most of you know, Ancient Runes expert Philip Meyers has been missing since early October. He was found last night returned to his home in Bristol without a clue who he is. Yes, that's right, a Memory Charm. The kidnapper has planned this carefully, so the man has no remembrance of any kidnapping. The Dragon is still the number one suspect. Currently, Mr. Meyers is at St. Mungo's being treated, but there doesn't seem to be too much hope that he will recover. And now back to our regularly scheduled broadcasting."

Liz didn't know what to make of this. Should she be worried? Michael looked slightly confused, and Rachel's face was blank. The music began to play again.

"So what are you two doing for Christmas?" Liz asked them, trying to change the subject.

"I'm going home," Rachel said.

"Well, I'm staying this year," said Michael. "Me and Mum and Jessica."

"What about your dad?" Liz asked.

"He's coming on the Hogwarts Express when it picks up everyone to take them home for the holidays," Michael answered. "He wants to see how Hogwarts has changed since he came here."

"I wish I was staying," Rachel sighed. "But Mum and Dad wanted me and the twins home over the break, and the twins want to go, so I really can't complain."

"We'll miss you, Rachel," said Michael.

"You'll still owl me, right?" Rachel asked.

"Of course we will. What makes you think we wouldn't?" Liz said, grinning.

Christmas came on fast. Before Liz knew it, she was preparing to see Rachel off and greet Mr. Weasley at the train station. She bundled up warmly, because the outdoors was freezing. When she got downstairs, Michael laughed.

"What's so funny?" she asked. Her voice was muffled because of the four scarves piled up in front of her mouth.

"You look like a big round cat toy," said Michael, quickly turning another laugh into a cough. He had on a shirt, a warm jacket, pants, a hat, and snow boots. Liz had up to three more layers than he did.

"Thank you," Liz said sarcastically, reaching to adjust her hat. Unfortunately, she had on so many layers that she could barely move her arms. Rachel, who was descending the stairs behind her lugging a trunk, stopped and fixed the hat for her. "Thank you," said Liz, seriously this time.

"You're welcome. Should we get going?"

"Rachel, it won't be the same without you!" Liz said. "It'll be the three of us minus one this Christmas…"

"What did you say? I can't hear you through all your scarves."

Liz took off two of her scarves and threw them on a chair by the fireplace. Then she removed one of her coats. There were two more underneath. "All right, now I don't look like a stuffed turkey. Let's go and get it over with, shall we?"

The twins came racing up behind them. "Home for Christmas! Home for Christmas!" they chanted shrilly. "We are going home for Christmas!"

"Shut up, will you?" Rachel grumbled.

They left the portrait hole and met up with Professor Weasley and Jessica, who were going the same way as they were. Once outside, they had a long walk to the station, which was stationed almost at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. "My toes are numb," Liz said.

"Why?" said Michael. "Your feet are bundled up like the rest of you."

"I know. I have five pairs of socks on and it's cutting off my circulation."

They finally made it all the way to the station, where the majority of the student body was waiting eagerly to board the train and return home. The train hadn't pulled in yet. "Where is it?" Jessica said. "I want to see Dad again."

"Be patient," Mrs. Weasley told her. "It'll be here soon."

Sure enough, at exactly eleven o'clock, a whistle blew off in the distance, signaling the train's arrival. It chugged its way into the station, blowing off puffs of smoke from its smokestacks as it went When it had come to a full and complete stop, the doors opened and a conductor stepped out. "Don't come in, don't come in, let the man out. Pringle, get his trunk out, would you, man? That's what you're getting paid for." A disgruntled-looking assistant slouched over to the luggage cart and pulled out a large trunk marked with a gold W. Through the doors strolled Mr. Weasley.

"Hermione!" he called out, running to hug his wife. They embraced and kissed. Michael made a face.

"Stop being so immature," Rachel told him.

Students were beginning to board the train. "Well, bye then," said Rachel. Liz hugged her, and then so did Michael. Rachel waved one more time as Pringle, the grumpy assistant, too her trunk and the twins' trunks and loaded them onto the train. "Bye!" Rachel called before the doors shut.

"The station sure has changed," said Mr. Weasley.

The train whistle blew again and it pulled out, huffing furiously. Liz waved until it was out of sight.

* * *

Christmas dawned over the towers and turrets of Hogwarts bright and early. Liz woke up to cold, streaming sunlight shining through her window. She got out of bed to find a pile of packages and letters at the foot of her bed. One package was from Rachel. She had sent Liz a huge bag full of chocolate that turned teeth and tongues different colors. Another was from the Smiths, who had sent a book about tree frogs Liz's way. After she had finished opening all of them, she grabbed Michael's and Chris's present and turned to leave. But there was still one more. It was a tiny box. Liz opened it. Inside was a pair of beautiful, glittering earrings.

"Wow," Liz breathed. She picked up the last unopened letter and tore it open. It read:

Dear Elizabeth,

Merry Christmas! I love you very much. Luna

"Thanks, Mum," Liz whispered softly. She put on the new earrings and headed downstairs, where she met up with Michael in the common room. They exchanged gifts. Michael had gotten her an updated Book of Spell, Charms, and Hexes, and she had gotten him a new pair of black earmuffs to replace the red ones that clashed horribly with his hair. Then they headed to the Great Hall, where they saw Chris and Hagrid.

"Are you practicing like I told you to last lesson?" Liz reminded Chris, handing him his gift.

"Yes. Here you go." He gave her the one he had gotten her. After much flurry of wrapping paper, he produced a multicolored quill from Michael and a bag of Canary Creams from Liz. Liz had gotten a Gryffindor-colored necklace. Michael had received a wand polish kit.

"Time for breakfast," McGonagall announced. Everyone who was there gathered at the High Table. Among the students were David, Winnie, and Nora and Carl Lovegood. At the table, Liz found herself in-between Michael and Nora. Nora was gazing, wide-eyed, at the enchanted ceiling of Hogwarts. "Looks like snow," she said to no one in particular. Liz shifted in her seat.

Almost as soon as everyone was seated, Professor Magus stood again. "Hermione, may I speak to you for a moment?" Professor Weasley nodded. Ron looked up at Professor Magus, seemingly searching her with his eyes. Professor Magus sighed. "Fine, Ron, you can come too." The three got up and left.

Liz was curious to hear what Professor Magus had to say. About a minute after they had left, she stood and said, "I've got to use the bathroom. Be right back." And she followed the path that the adults had taken.

"Liz! Wait up!" called a voice. Liz turned to see Michael and Nora hurtling up the corridor behind her.

"Shh! What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you that," said Michael.

"I said I was going to use the bathroom."

"The bathroom is in the other direction," Nora said matter-of-factly.

"If you must know, I just want to hear what Professor Magus is telling your parents," said Liz. "Are you coming with me?"

"Looks like it." Michael gave a half-grin. "Come on, let's go."

They followed the hallway to a small door. Professor Magus's office. There were hushed voices coming from the other side. All three of them pressed their ears against it.

"I don't believe it," Mrs. Weasley was saying.

"Are you sure?" said Mr. Weasley.

"Yes. I was supposed to tell you, but the stupid law made it absolutely impossible for me to…And don't send an owl, in case it gets intercepted. All right?"

There was silence. Liz supposed Michael's parents were nodding.

"All right, we can go back now."

At this, Liz, Michael, and Nora ran for it. They didn't quite care that they were making as much noise as a stampeding herd of elephants; they just knew that they had to reach the Great Hall without being caught. They slid into their seats just before the three adults returned.

"Very good food," said Mr. Weasley. "Michael, why are you all out of breath?"

"I…um…choked. On my pumpkin juice." He gave a weak grin. Winnie looked at him suspiciously, and then returned to her meal.

For the rest of breakfast and the rest of the day, only one thing was on Liz's mind: _What had they been talking about? _


	11. The Next Lesson

Chapter 11 – The Next Lesson

Mr. Weasley left on the Hogwarts Express when it brought back all the rest of the students, including Rachel and the twins. It was near the middle of January, almost Rachel's birthday, and Liz once again tried to wrap herself up against the cold to greet her before discarding most of her items. All three of them helped Rachel lug her trunk up the stairs; it seemed to have gained some extra weight over the holidays.

"I thought only parents put on pounds during Christmas," said Liz, pushing with all her might up the stairs to the dorm.

"Well, I got a lot of presents," Rachel explained.

"I…can…tell…" said Michael, who was doing the most work.

Rachel had gotten a lot of things for Christmas, as she showed them when they got upstairs. Quite frankly, Liz was bewildered. Rachel's parents had taken up all the good ideas that Liz had had for Rachel's birthday presents.

Eventually, January went on and Rachel's birthday rolled around. Liz ended up getting her—what else—a bag of candy. Michael was more creative. He had taken pictures of them at his house the previous summer and had cut and pasted them together. It was amusing to see Rachel's head on Liz's body, or Michael's feet on Rachel's legs. It was even more amusing because the pictures moved, and Liz's head did not seem to appreciate having to hold up Michael's arm.

They were talking and laughing and having fun when Liz suddenly grabbed Michael's wrist. "What time is it?" she asked frantically, looking at his watch. "Seven? I've got to get to the library! I have so much work to do!"

"What do you have to work on?" said Rachel.

"Something for Professor Magus. Bye!" And she flew out of the portrait hole, her bag slung awkwardly over her shoulder. The manuscript had been sitting idly in it for weeks, and she had vowed to have done more work by the time Rachel's birthday was over. That only gave her five hours, and two if she wanted to get back to Gryffindor Tower on time. When she reached the library, the only person there was the librarian, who tried to avoid eye contact with Liz. Ever since Liz had inadvertently set Michael's head on fire, the librarian had been terrified of her. Liz didn't mind too much, though; she worked best alone. When the required books were scattered out over the tabletop, Liz began to work. For some strange reason, even though she spent half an hour looking, she could not find the letter D. _How ironic,_ she thought. _D for Dragon._ She finally gave up on that and worked hard with renewed vigor for an hour and a half. She managed to find all the letters E through K. She plugged them into the manuscript and looked at the result. The difference was substantial. Since there were so many E's, there were many less blanks. She began to try to pick out a few words until she realized it was five till nine. In a rush, she packed up her things and hurried back to the Gryffindor common room.

Michael and Rachel, surprisingly, had already gone up to bed. Liz yawned and followed suit, burying herself in her covers and falling asleep.

* * *

"Today," Liz announced, "we're going to teach you how to do the Colloportus Charm."

Chris looked at her blankly. Liz, Rachel, Michael, and Chris were standing right outside Hagrid's door, starting the latest lesson. Chris had a right to be puzzled. "I know Hagrid gave his permission to continue with these lessons, but do you think we should be doing it right outside his door?"

"We kind of have to," Liz told him. "Get your wand out."

"Why?"

"Because you need your wand to do a spell."

"No, why do we have to it right outside Hagrid's door?"

"We're not. We're doing in _on_ Hagrid's door. Repeat after me—"

"We're what?" Chris interrupted her. "Why?"

"Because the Colloportus charm keeps doors closed," Liz replied. "And to do that, we sort of need a door. Is that all right with you?"

Chris sighed. "Fine. What do I say?"

Liz smiled. "That's better. Repeat after me. _Colloportus."_

"_Colloportus."_

"One more time."

"_Colloportus."_

"Good. I'll demonstrate." Liz raised her wand.

"Hang on. Why don't they demonstrate?" Chris asked, motioning to Rachel and Michael, who were hanging back.

"Because we don't know how to do it," Michael answered.

"You mean you're teaching me stuff you haven't even learned yet?" Chris asked, rounding on Liz.

"In class, no. But I've mastered it, and I'm sure you can too. Watch." She raised her wand again. _"Colloportus!"_ With a squelching sound, the door swung shut. "See? It's that easy!"

"What was that?" Hagrid bellowed from somewhere inside the house.

"Nothing, Hagrid!" Chris called back.

"Are yeh sure?" They heard Hagrid's thunderous footfalls approaching the door.

Chris tugged on the door. "Liz! Open it!" he hissed at her.

"_Finite Incantatem,"_ Liz muttered. The door swung open, nearly knocking Chris off his feet. "We're doing fine, Hagrid," she told him as he approached.

"Good." He looked at them suspiciously before turning back. All four of them breathed sighs of relief.

"You try now, Chris," said Liz. "Colloportus," she added.

He brandished his wand. _"Colloportus!"_ he said. Once again, the door swung shut.

"Now I'm sure I heard somethin'!" Hagrid shouted.

"_Finite Incantatem,"_ Liz said quickly. The door opened.

"Yeh're sure nothin' happened?" Hagrid asked once he came puffing back into view.

"Positive," said Chris.

"Absolutely," Liz added.

"All right," Hagrid said, still sounding highly suspicious. He turned and went back to whatever he was doing, throwing one more glance back over his shoulder.

"D'you reckon it's safe to try it again?" Michael asked tentatively once Hagrid was out of earshot.

"No," Rachel replied instantly.

"Neither do I," said Chris. "That was a quick lesson."

"All right, I've got homework," said Michael. "We'll see you, Chris." The three of them headed back up to the castle, where they read and did homework for the rest of the day.

* * *

February came in full force, and with it came the usual Valentine's Day fervor, which had Rachel muttering, "Lovesick," every few seconds as they passed a couple holding hands or kissing. Michael's reaction was a disgusted scowl, and so was Liz's when the couple happened to be David and Winnie.

One day, after Ancient Runes, Liz was hurrying to meet up with Rachel and Michael for Herbology when she heard loud, angry voices. They were coming from the top of a staircase. "What are you saying?" yelled a female voice. Liz recognized it as Winnie's.

"I'm saying I don't like you anymore!" shouted the other. It was David. "I like someone else! I've been trying to tell you for weeks, but you wouldn't listen to me!"

"Fine!" Winnie snapped. There was a second of silence, and then the bracelet landed at Liz's feet. "Fine!" Winnie repeated. She stormed down the stairs and nearly bowled Liz over. David followed a couple seconds later. He stooped to pick up the bracelet and spotted Liz.

"Hi," she said.

"Hello. Do we have Herbology next?" David asked her.

Liz couldn't believe it. Here he was, having just broken up with his girlfriend, practically asking to escort Liz to Herbology. "Yes," she stammered. They began to walk.

"So," said David. "The Valentine's Day Dance is coming up soon. February fourteenth."

"Yeah," Liz squeaked. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "It is."

"And I was wondering…if you'd like to go with me." He stopped expectantly. Liz felt frozen. She couldn't move her mouth. "Liz?"

"Yes," she said. "Yes, I'd love to go with you."

He grinned. "Great. We're here."

They entered the greenhouse, and all the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs saw them walk in together. Then Liz seated herself next to Rachel. She couldn't stop smiling.

"Why were you with David? And why are you so happy?" Rachel demanded.

Liz didn't answer, and the smile didn't diminish for days. She was going to the Valentine's Day Dance with David Hannigan!


	12. A Single Pink Rose

Chapter 12 – A Single Pink Rose

Liz was so excited that she was finally in on the Valentine's Day fever. David, apparently, was too. He walked with Liz to Herbology and Ancient Runes every time they had it. Rachel finally managed to get the reason for Liz's unexplained happiness out of her, and then she was almost as thrilled as Liz was. "This is perfect!" she exclaimed. "You've liked him for over a year, and now he likes you back! This is so sweet!"

"So who's taking you to the dance?" Liz asked. They were in the Gryffindor common room, and Liz was lounging about in a comfy armchair. For once, she didn't feel like doing homework.

"No one's asked me yet," Rachel said meaningfully, looking over at Michael. They had gone together as friends for two years. Michael opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off when John Peterson approached them.

"Rachel, do you want to go to the dance with me?" he asked bluntly.

Rachel's mouth hung open for a second. She glanced over at Michael. "Sure, John," she said finally. "I'll go to the dance with you. But I thought you liked Liz?"

"Not anymore. To be quite honest, I asked Bettie Hess first, but she asked Hagrid's helper, Chris. So then I asked you. I'll see you there, then." And he strode off. Michael spoke first.

"Grace, tact, and skill. He's the perfect package, Rach," he said sarcastically.

"Has he never heard of discretion?" Liz said.

"I don't want to go with him!" said Rachel. "Michael, ask me to go with you!"

"Then you'd have to turn me down. You already have a date." He looked slightly discouraged about this.

"Maybe I can tell him I forgot you asked me?" Rachel said hopefully.

"Forgot," Liz repeated. "He was sitting right behind you and you forgot?"

"Then maybe he'll think I'm stupid and won't want to go with me. That sounds convincing, right? Doesn't it?"

They stared at her blankly.

"Fine," Rachel grumbled. "I'll go with him."

"Such a tragedy. Especially since you accepted him," said Liz.

"That was before I knew he liked Bettie!" Rachel said hotly, shuddering. "Eurgh."

"And she asked Chris. How can he have said yes?" Liz said. "He knows she's horrible to us."

"Horrible to us, maybe, but not to him," said Michael. "She's nice around him."

"True," said Rachel. "Who are you going to ask, Michael? Since you missed your chance to ask me."

"Who else is there?"

"Alberta?"

"Boyfriend."

"Desiree?"

"_Older_ boyfriend."

"Ask someone from a different house, then."

"I don't know anyone."

Rachel pursed her lips at him and turned back to her homework she was doing.

* * *

On the night of February fourteenth, Liz and Rachel helped each other get ready for the dance. Rachel, as fanatical about hair and makeup as she was did both of those on herself and Liz with spells. Liz was amazed. "See what you can do when you put your mind to it, Rachel?"

Rachel pretended not to hear her. "What earrings go best with my dress robes, Liz?" she asked.

After all preparation was complete, Liz and Rachel descended the stairs to the common room. John was waiting for his date. "You look amazing," he told Rachel.

"And you look…er…nice…" John had slicked his hair back and put on some cologne that made Liz lightheaded even from a few feet away. She couldn't imagine how Rachel felt. He also had on navy blue dress robes with a high-necked collar, making him look slightly like a vampire in Muggle literature. Rachel coughed. "The cologne is—er—interesting, John."

"Thank you." He offered her his arm, which she took reluctantly, making faces at Liz over her shoulder. As John and Rachel left, Michael came down the stairs in his green dress robes.

"You look like Christmas, Michael," Liz told him.

"Thanks. Why aren't you with David?"

"He said he'd meet me at the Great Hall at seven."

Michael checked his watch. "It's five after."

"Darn. Come on, let's go."

"Did Rachel leave already?" Michael asked disappointedly as they crossed the common room.

"Yes. Why?"

But Michael didn't answer. He was staring confusedly at someone in the hallway. Liz turned to see David. "David! What are you doing here? You said you'd meet me in the Great Hall."

"What, I can't surprise you? You look absolutely stunning. Here," he said, handing her a single pink rose. She sniffed it gingerly, a bit miffed. "I know what you're thinking," he told her. "Pink stands for friendship. But it also stands for something I hope will blossom into a deeper…color."

Liz smiled. "Thank you."

He offered her his arm, which she took willingly. The pair headed off to the Great Hall, Michael trailing behind.

The Great Hall looked incredible. The usual lights had been dimmed, but a candle hovered above each of the smaller tables on one side of the Hall, creating an odd shimmering effect. The other side of the Hall was the dance floor. While Michael took a seat at one of the empty tables, David ushered Liz to the other side.

"I'm really not very good at dancing," Liz admitted, feeling her cheeks burn.

"It's not something anyone can teach you," David told her. "It's a trial and error thing. See…" He clasped her hand in one of his and slipped the other around her waist. She placed her free hand on his shoulder and let him guide her all around the floor, spinning at the perfect moment. Nearby, Bettie danced with Chris, circling Liz and David twice. Chris gave Liz a half-smile, which she barely noticed. David eyes were a fixatingly clear brown…

"Excuse us, I have two left feet," said Bettie, who had steered Chris directly into Liz. Liz fell to the floor, bringing David down with her. The result amused Bettie, who moved Chris over slightly, still keeping an eye on the couple. David helped Liz up.

Bettie seemed to be tailing them, as Liz couldn't help noticing. Every time David was facing her, she batted her eyelashes and pouted her lips, but when David turned away, she shot Liz glares over his shoulder.

"Jealous," she murmured. The word was barely audible, but David caught it. "Hmm?" he said, eyebrows raised.

"Nothing," she said quickly. But now it was clear. Bettie had asked Chris to the dance for the same reason she wouldn't let them out of her sight: She was jealous of David and she wanted to make David jealous as well.

"Want some punch?" Liz suggested.

David accepted and they headed over to the refreshment table. Nearby, Michael was sitting and Rachel was talking to him. John sat next to her, occasionally glancing over and making an impatient noise deep in his throat. David got both him and Liz punch, and the sat, sipping it slowly. Liz was trying to think of something to say.

Bettie and Chris came over. "Hello, David," Bettie said icily.

"Hello, David. Hi, Liz," said Chris.

Bettie raised her eyebrows at him. He made a face back at her. She scowled back at him. Liz smiled. Somehow, this was fun to watch, as Chris seemed to be winning.

Finally they stopped. David stood. "As fun as this has been to watch, this is a dance, so we're going to dance." He took Liz's hand and led her back to the dance floor. Bettie didn't bother them for the rest of the time.

At last, the dance ended with groans from all the participants. David escorted Liz back to Gryffindor Tower. On the way, they passed Bettie, who was looking particularly murderous since Chris had abandoned her as soon as the dance was over.

"Here we are," said David at last, outside the portrait of the Fat Lady. Then he began to lean in to kiss Liz good night. Liz froze. What was he doing? She turned her head, so his lips met her cheek. He pulled back, unsatisfied.

"I know you like me, and I like you too. I just think we should take it slowly. We barely even know each other, if you think about it. This rose still needs time to blossom," she said, holding up her pink rose.

"I feel the same way too," he said, but it was obvious he didn't. He touched her hand briefly and left, leaving Liz to climb through the portrait hole, dazed with many thoughts.


	13. Further Translation

Chapter 13 – Further Translation

Rachel made Liz repeat every single detail of the dance as least five times. She sighed with happiness when Liz told her of their graceful dancing, and scowled with anger when Liz got to the part about Bettie. But she was appalled when Liz told her about the kiss that wasn't. "Are you insane? You've liked him for over a year and a half! Why shouldn't you kiss?"

"Because he's liked me for about two weeks at the most. I'm just not ready yet."

"Then when will you be ready?" Rachel asked, folding her arms across her chest.

Liz shrugged. "I don't know. It's not something you can ever be ready for."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "You're hopeless."

* * *

March came to Hogwarts, melting any trace of snowfall that was left. Liz was excited, not only because her birthday was in late March, but also because she finally had some more time to work on the manuscript. She headed to the library with her bag at five o'clock on a Friday night, with four hours before her to work.

The first thing she started with was D. She still couldn't find the D. It was as if it had been ripped out of every book of the library. Liz was frustrated. Why couldn't she find it? She decided to move on to L.

After two hours, she had gotten L, M, N, and O. She was about to start on P when Rachel and Michael came in and sat down at her table. Liz looked up at them. "Hello," she said. "What are you two doing here?"

"Looking for you," said Michael.

"Well, you found me. What do you need?"

"What are you working on?" Rachel asked, looking at the manuscript. Liz pulled it away. "What is that?"

"If you must know, they're Ancient Runes."

"For Professor Stickler?"

"No, for Professor Magus," Michael repeated blankly.

"Ancient Runes for Professor Magus," Michael repeated blankly.

"Yes. Just—don't ask, all right?"

"Fine," said Rachel, sitting back. "Are you coming back to the common room anytime soon? You've been in here for nearly two hours."

"I'll be there soon," Liz promised. "I just have to finish one more thing and then I'll be there."

"All right," said Michael. He and Rachel stood and left. Liz just wanted to plug in what she had found out so far into the manuscript and then she'd quit.

After she was finished, it read:

M name i alaa lhein. I am one of he fo fone of Hoga. I hae been hnne, iicle, an neee a b hoe I once calle m fien. Afe leaing m legac in he Chambe of ece, I hae ccmbe o hei ihe an eigne. he hae no oecie ell on Hoga o I ma no Aaae back. B lile o he kno, I ook hei lan ih me, o I kno ho o no hem an enac m eenge. he bailik in he chambe i no enogh.

If o ae eaing iecl fom m incion, anlae ino Ancien nic, he oce ill ake one a. If no, i ill ake i monh o a ea, eening on he engh of he iniial ia ho ill i ino acion.

eaing fom hi, an a he ege of he Fobien Foe ne he ea oak ee ha nee fall, an a alo, "Come on, he hiel of Hoga, come on!" hee ime. ake one e foa, an he gon ill ake ne o fee. hen o kno ha i i afe o Aaae o iaaae henee o leae.

If o ae eaing a anlaion, hen o he ame ee nigh. A a lea one eon ee o monh. On he la a, o ill kno i ill be ea hen a banch fom he ea oak ee fall. Eeone ake a e foa an i ill be comlee.

Cae fo m legac. alaa lhein

Liz stared at the manuscript. She could pick out a few words, such as "of" and "on" and "name" and "Hogwarts," occasionally. She folded it up, stuffed it in her bag, and left for the common room.

* * *

As Liz's birthday drew nearer, she got more excited. March was always her favorite month of the year. She wanted to get in another lesson with Chris before she turned fifteen, so in the middle of March, she headed down to Hagrid's cabin with her bag in tow.

Chris answered the door. "Liz! What are you doing here? I wasn't expecting you. Where are Michael and Rachel?"

"Homework," Liz answered. "I thought I'd drop by."

"You want to have a lesson, don't you?"

"Not if you don't want to."

"It's all right, I don't mind. What do you need to teach me today?"

Liz led him outside, where Liz set her bag down on a large flat rock. "It's not so much as what I need to teach you as what I need you to help me with. What do you make of this?" she asked, taking out the manuscript and handing it to him. He stared at it.

"This is weird," he said at last. "You're trying to translate it? How far have you gotten?"

"Here," Liz said, handing him the translation. "Can you see anything now?"

He stared at this for a few more minutes, and then pointed to the first two sentences.

_M name i alaa lhein. I am one of he fo fone of Hoga._

"Probably 'my name is'…something," said Chris.

"I couldn't figure that one out either."

"Then, I am one of…the…something something of Hogwarts."

Liz's eyes lit up with sudden realization. "I am one of the four founders of Hogwarts!"

"You're right! That's got to be it," said Chris. "So…who are the four founders?"

"Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, and…Salazar Slytherin."

They stared at each other for a second, and then they both grabbed the manuscript, nearly tearing it, both trying to plug in the letters. Chris spoke first.

"My name is Salazar Slytherin. I am one of the four founders of Hogwarts," he said quietly. "It fits."

"What's the next line say?" Liz asked. They read again.

_I hae been hnne, iicle, an neee a b hoe I once calle m fien._

"I have been something, something, and something something…something something I once called…my friends, probably," said Liz. "That's no good."

"But it probably talked about the other three founders," said Chris. "You know, how he left because he didn't like Muggleborns, and he built the Chamber of Secrets with the basilisk inside, which your father killed when he was in second year." Liz looked at him. "What? I read up on it!"

"Basilisk…wait, that reminds me of something. Hang on." Liz picked up the manuscript and scanned it. "There, look!" she said, poking it with a finger.

_he bailik in he chambe i no enogh._

"…The basilisk in…the chamber…is not enough!" said Liz. "It's about something else for revenge against Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff."

"But what?" said Chris.

"Chris!" Hagrid called. "You out there? Yeh still need ter finish yer chores! Say goodbye ter Liz an' get in here!"

"I guess that's all the time we have for today," said Chris. "Good luck on that Ancient Runes thing, Liz."

"Thanks for your help, Chris," Liz said. "I'll go over it again and see if there's anything else I can figure out, and I'll let you know, all right?"

"All right. Bye."

Liz set off for the castle, scrutinizing the remainder of the manuscript. She picked up a few phrases and the very last line: _Care for my legacy. Salazar Slytherin._ This sent shivers up Liz's spine, though it was mid March. She looked back at Hagrid's hut, where Chris was looking out the window. She waved, and he waved back. Then she continued up her chosen path, leaving a trail of footsteps behind.


	14. The Birthday Present

Chapter 14 – The Birthday Present

On March twenty-fourth, Liz stumbled out of bed late. Her alarm clock hadn't gone off. She was thinking of taking advantage of the Hogsmeade trip the next weekend and getting a new one. She pulled on her robes, which were wrinkled. She quickly slipped into her shoes and reached for her wand, but something was sitting on it. It was her mother's white owl. Only then did Liz remember that she was fifteen today. She took the letter from the owl and read:

Dear Elizabeth,

Happy 15th Birthday! I miss you. Enjoy your present.

Luna

And then, at the bottom of the letter in a different handwriting that Liz had never seen before, it said:

May we meet again soon.

Liz started. This was the first time her mother had ever said anything about her extended absence in her daughter's life. She ripped off the unused half of parchment from the letter and took the quill that had been folded up in it. She dipped it in ink on her desk and began to write. _Dear Mum._ But the quill wouldn't write. She shook it vigorously. "I'm going to miss breakfast!" she yelled. Then a scrap of paper fell out of the letter.

_Self-Writing Quill. Writes whatever the owner wants it to say. To activate, press red spot on the side and state your name._

So Liz pressed the tiny red spot and said, "Liz Potter."

"No nicknames," the quill said dully.

"Okay, then, um…Elizabeth Potter."

"That's better. Your quill is now activated. Whenever you want me to write something, say, 'Ethereal Phoenix.'"

"Ethereal Phoenix?" Liz repeated.

"What would you like me to write?" the quill asked her.

"Dear Mum, I got your letter, please come see me soon, I miss you."

"Anything else?" asked the quill in a bored tone.

"Love, your daughter Liz."

"Done yet?" impatiently.

"Yes. Do you send it too?"

"No. I'm just a quill."

So Liz rolled up the parchment and gave it to the owl, which was waiting patiently, and ushered the owl out the window. The quill kept talking. "So who are you writing to?"

"How do I turn you off?"

"Just say, 'Mystic Silver.'"

"Mystic Silver," said Liz, and the pen shut up. She grabbed her bag and rushed downstairs to an empty common room. She flew out the portrait hole to the Great Hall, where breakfast was ending. Rachel and Michael were coming out, Rachel with a piece of toast, Michael with a glass of juice, and each with a wrapped gift.

"Where were you? We saved these for you," said Rachel. They handed her the toast and the juice, which she devoured quickly. Then they gave her the gifts.

"What are these?" she asked.

"Your gifts," said Michael.

"You didn't have to get me anything…"

"But we did," said Rachel. "Open them on our way to…what do we have first? Oh, that's right, Care of Magical Creatures. Chris'll have a gift for you too, I'll bet."

Rachel's gift was a compact mirror that apparently gave makeup tips. "I have one," Rachel told Liz. "It's really useful." Michael's was a book. It wasn't a history book or a book of spells, but a fiction book. "I read the summary, and I thought you'd like it."

They reached Hagrid's cabin, where Chris was waiting for them. "Here," he said, giving Liz a gift. It was a bag of Sugar Quills that actually wrote. "Thank you," said Liz, taking one out. "It's my breakfast dessert."

After Care of Magical Creatures, Liz headed to Ancient Runes while Rachel and Michael went to Muggle Studies. When she got inside, Professor Stickler wasn't there, but David was.

"Hello, Liz," he said. "Happy Birthday."

Winnie came in, followed by Bettie. Both glared furiously at Liz as David handed her a heart-shaped box of chocolates. Liz looked up at him, and then at Bettie, who was determinedly not looking at them, and then at Winnie, who seemed to be trying to bore a hole through the back of David's head. Then she looked back at David. "Um, David? Um, I don't know how to say this, but I think we should just be friends. For now. I mean—I don't know, I'm so confused, but I know I can't handle a relationship at the moment."

David looked saddened. "Well, all right. You still want the chocolates, right?"

Liz smiled. "Of course." She put the box in her bag. David shifted in his seat. Professor Stickler came in and began teaching.

* * *

The rest of March flew by fast, and April came almost too quickly. Liz spent a week's worth of nights in the library decoding P through X. X was the hardest, and she still couldn't find D. She refrained from plugging P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, and X into the manuscript for the simple reason that she wanted to find all the letters herself and avoid too much guesswork.

"Where were you?" Rachel asked as Liz entered the common room after spending three hours searching for X.

"Library."

"Doing Ancient Runes for Professor Magus again?"

"Yes."

"It's consuming all your time, you know that? You're always in the library, doing Ancient Runes for Professor Magus, and she doesn't even teach it. Are you even going to show us that thing you were working on?"

"No, not if you're going to insult me for doing a favor for Professor Magus," said Liz, her temper flaring up. Then she settled. "Look, I can't show you. It's confidential."

Rachel sighed and nodded. "Fine. I won't ask."

"And I won't answer."

Liz sat back in her chair, thinking. She was so close to finishing this manuscript. But how far did she still need to go?

* * *

April went by fast. The whole fourth-year class, even Liz, felt overwhelmed with the homework load the teachers were giving them. Michael asked his mother why one day in Transfiguration late in April. She told him that exams were coming up and their O.W.L.s were the next year.

"But Mum, that's next year, in fifth-year," Michael complained.

"I am perfectly aware of that, Michael," said Professor Weasley. "As I was saying, your homework assignment for tonight is to—"

"But next year!" protested Michael.

"Michael!" said Professor Weasley. "All right, where was I? Ah, yes…"

At the end of the day, Liz, Rachel, and Michael headed back to Gryffindor, the latter two groaning about the stacks of homework they had to complete for the next day. Rachel and Michael stayed in the common room, while Liz headed upstairs, saying it was calmer and quieter. While this was true, her real reason for going up to the dorm was to check for her mother's owl. She had been checking every day for a month, waiting for an answer, and praying that it wouldn't be just a blank piece of parchment again.

When she reached the dorm, she breathed a sigh of relief. Her mother's owl was perched on one of Liz's bedposts, waving its leg around. Liz called it down and detached the letter. Only one line was scrawled upon it: I WILL SEE YOU AGAIN SOON.

Liz almost jumped for joy. Her mother was alive! She had to tell somebody. But who? Then she realized: Chris. He would believe her. He hadn't before, but now she had proof. He had to now.

In Liz's second year, she had told Chris about the letters and how she knew her mother was alive. He hadn't taken it well. He had told her that her mother had been dead for years and she wasn't coming back. Liz got so mad that she put a Memory Charm on him so he would forget. She had felt bad, but she hadn't said anything about it since. Now she vowed not to curse him again if he didn't agree.

"Chris! Open up!" she called, pounding on the door.

Chris answered, looking puzzled. "What is it?"

"I need to tell you something, and you've _got_ to believe me," Liz pleaded. "Come outside, I don't want Hagrid to hear."

Chris obliged, stepping over the threshold of Hagrid's cabin to the outside. Liz produced the letter. "It's from my mother. My real mother."

Chris paused, and then he took it from her. He read it over once, then again, and then another time. "Liz," he said finally, "your mother is dead."

"No, she isn't!" Liz said hotly. "That's what you said before!"

"Before?"

"In second-year! That's what you said and I put a Memory Charm on you!"

"You—you did?"

"Yes! And I've always felt bad about it, but I had to tell you now!" She sat on the grass. "There. If you don't believe me, fine."

"I don't," Chris said resolutely. "But if she does come back, you'll have proved me wrong. Are you sure you're all right?"

"Fine," said Liz, swallowing a dry sob. When Chris said it, it sounded sensible that her mother was really dead. But then when she looked at the letter, all the hopes came flooding back. "I'll go now. Sorry I bothered you."

"Don't worry. It was better than doing chores," said Chris.

Liz got up, thanked Chris, and left, their conversation weighing heavily on her heart.


	15. Feud

Chapter 15 – Feud

"Where are you going now?" Rachel asked uninterestedly from an armchair in the common room. It was May, and Liz had insisted that the three of them start studying for exams, which were about a month and a half away. Michael and Rachel had grudgingly obliged. Now Liz was getting up to leave. "Don't leave us to study by ourselves!"

"I have to. I'm going to the library."

"Again?" Michael said, setting down his book. "Don't you ever give yourself any free time? Ever?"

"Sure," Liz replied. "I'm going to the Quidditch Cup final on May thirty-first."

"No free time between now and then?" said Rachel. "You do know that's a month away, don't you?"

"Yes, but I need to do this. I'm so close."

"It's that crazy Ancient Runes thing again, isn't it?" said Rachel.

"For one, it's not crazy. For two, I promised I'd do it. And for three, I don't see why you care!"

"Because! I never see you anymore. If you're not doing homework, you're working on that idiotic Ancient Runes assignment for Professor Magus. She teaches Defense Against the Dark Arts!"

"It is Defense Against the Dark Arts," said Liz, thinking of Slytherin's possible revenge. She would know if only Rachel would let her leave…

"You said it was Ancient Runes!"

"It is!"

"Stop it!" yelled Michael. "Rachel, study. Liz, go to the library. Stop fighting."

Liz grabbed her bag and left. Rachel should have never looked at the manuscript in the first place. It was none of her business. She flew to the library, fuming, and landed at her usual table. The books she had from last time were still there. She had already searched them for D multiple times, so she skipped directly to Y. It was difficult, sure, but after an hour, Liz finally found it. She wrote it down on a piece of parchment with the rest of the alphabet from the manuscript, tracing the squiggly symbol onto her makeshift translator. Now she only had to find Z and D. The blank spot she had saved for D was discouraging, but she worked on Z instead.

After Z was found, the only one she had left was D. She felt drained after all the searching, but she just needed one more letter, the hardest one to find. Liz spotted a book she might be able to use sitting on the shelf, and a thought occurred to her. Why not use her powers to retrieve it? So Liz concentrated with all her might on bringing the book to the table. Then, with a flash of strength, she watched the book float over and land lightly in front of her.

Then came the sensation that she was being watched.

Liz looked around quickly, trying to find an unseen spectator, but in her heart she knew who it was. He had told her so herself last year. It was the Dragon. He had said that he had devised a way to watch her while she used her powers. She hadn't even thought of that until now. He had seen her working on the manuscript.

Despite the paralyzing sense of terror that had suffocated her, Liz managed to calm herself and open the book. Nowhere in it could she find D. It was virtually impossible. She thought about asking Professor Magus for help, but her pride pushed that away. She could do this all by herself.

With that, she gathered her things and headed back to Gryffindor Tower, where Rachel and Michael were still in the common room. Liz ignored them completely. Instead of talking to them as she would have done if Rachel hadn't just yelled at her, Liz shot past the both of them up the stairs to the dorm, where she went to bed feeling that something good had better come out of this whole manuscript predicament.

* * *

It was May thirty-first, the day of the Quidditch Cup final between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. Though Michael was nervous about facing Kathryn Hertel, probably the best Seeker since Liz's father, in her last Quidditch game in school, he still wanted to patch up things between Liz and Rachel. Their feud had lasted through the month. "You'll still sit with her, won't you?"

"Of course not," Liz said stubbornly. "I'm not going to give in. She basically called me an idiot."

"No she didn't!"

"Yes she did!"

"When?"

"She called it 'that idiotic Ancient Runes assignment.' I'm working on it, so wouldn't that make me the idiot?"

Michael faltered. "Well…"

"See? You admit it! She called me an idiot! I'm not sitting with her."

"Then who will you sit with?"

"I don't know. Someone else. _Anyone_ else."

"Bettie?"

Liz looked up at him. "You know that's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?"

"I wouldn't sit with Bettie. Bettie hates me."

"And according to you, Rachel thinks you're an idiot!" said Michael. Liz was silent. "So you'd rather sit with Bettie than Rachel? I love being right."

"I can tell," Liz said. "Listen, Michael, she insulted me and she doesn't understand why I have to finish the manuscript. If she had just left me alone about it, everything would be all right."

"Maybe if you told her why, she'd understand. I don't understand, and you're not all red-in-the-face mad at me. Why can't you tell her?"

"I just—can't."

"Why not? Did Professor Magus swear you to secrecy?"

"No, not really."

Michael raised an eyebrow. "Not really?"

"She never actually said it, but I don't think she would like me to tell the whole world."

"I'm not asking you to tell the whole world. I'm only asking you to tell your best friend. Can't you just do that?"

Liz hesitated. "No," she finally said. "I can't. You better go, you're going to be late. Didn't Sarah McGuire say warm-ups began at eight-thirty?"

"What time is it?"

"Eight thirty-five," said Liz, looking at his watch.

Michael scrambled out of his seat. "Bye, Liz! Bye, Rachel!" he called back over his shoulder. Both girls waved, glared at each other, and turned back to their breakfast.

When eleven o'clock came, hordes of excited Quidditch fans poured into stands, eagerly waiting the most exciting Quidditch Cup final to date. Liz found a seat far away from Rachel, next to a group of second-years who raised eyebrows but said nothing to her. Rachel sat with Alberta Monroe, Desiree Armstrong, and Keith Dirks, who acted like this was normal. Liz fumed until Chris and Hagrid came and sat with her. Most of the second-years looked up at Hagrid's large mass in awe, their jaws hanging open.

"Where's Rachel?" Chris asked. Liz jabbed a thumb to her left. "Are you two still fighting?"

"Not you too," said Liz.

Chris opened his mouth to say something, but Josh Lepress took the microphone and began his usual pre-game commentary. "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the much-anticipated Quidditch Final! The two biggest factors in this game are Michael Weasley, the Gryffindor Seeker, a wonder since he joined the team in first-year, and the only Seeker who's ever bested him, seventh-year Hufflepuff Captain Kathryn Hertel! Hertel has led the Hufflepuff team to victory for the past three years in a row! Some say she's the best Hogwarts has seen since Harry Potter!"

At this all the second-years shifted in their seats to look at Liz. She reddened.

"Here come the teams now! For Hufflepuff, Evangelista, Southard, Rounds, Kua, Larosa, Hannigan, and Hertel!"

Liz looked down at the field. She had completely forgotten that David was a Beater on the Hufflepuff team. She waved, and he waved back.

"Who's that?" Chris asked her.

"Hmm? Oh, no one, just…a friend."

"And for the Gryffindors, Bautista, Dogginsen, Fancher, McGuire, Gadsden, Castor, and Weasley!"

The two teams took their places on the field. Oliver Wood, the flying instructor, carried a large wooden box out onto the field and released the Bludgers and the Golden Snitch. Michael sidestepped a Bludger that came pummeling at him and then shot for Sarah McGuire, the Gryffindor Captain, who barely dodged it. Then Wood threw the Quaffle into the air, and the game began.

"Chad Rounds of Hufflepuff with the Quaffle, passes to Shelia Evangelista—oh, intercepted by Viola Bautista, a newcomer to the team this year but she's doing incredibly well. She fakes a pass to Stephen Fancher and heads for the goal, where Keeper Hugh Kua has to prove his worth, she shoots, SHE SCORES! Ten points to Gryffindor! Hufflepuff Manuel Southard in possession, passes to Evangelista, she's wide open! No, she's not, Shannon Dogginsen makes a spectacular tackle and steals the Quaffle—look out, Shannon! Bludger from Beater David Hannigan, and Rounds takes the ball. He's racing up the field, there's no one between him and Keeper Sarah McGuire, he shoots—he scores. Tied ten to ten."

Things went downhill from there. The Hufflepuffs, now brimming with confidence, took every opportunity they could to shoot, and most times they made it. Sarah McGuire may have been a good Captain, but she was definitely not the best Keeper for the job. The score was sixty to twenty (Viola Bautista had scored on a fluke) when Hertel came spiraling out of the air, Michael hot on her tail.

"Go, Michael, go!" Liz urged from her place in the stands. Rachel was doing the same thing on the other side. The snitch darted behind and through the Hufflepuff goalposts, and so did the Seekers. Hertel reached out her hand for the Snitch—but Michael got there first.

"GRYFFINDOR WINS THE CUP! GRYFFINDOR WINS!" yelled Josh. "Michael Weasley pulls off a magnificent capture of the Snitch, resulting in a Gryffindor victory one hundred seventy to sixty! Hertel is denied a final victory, and there's a celebration going on out on the field!"

The Gryffindor fans streamed out onto the pitch and formed a large crowd, the Quidditch team in the middle. Michael and Sarah McGuire were holding up the Quidditch Cup together. Liz cheered with the rest of them as three seventh-year boys hoisted Michael up above the crowd.


	16. Pulling a Professor Magus

Chapter 16 – Pulling a Professor Magus

"And don't forget to study, because your exam is in two days," said Professor Magus, beaming at them all. I am having a review session tomorrow night at seven if anyone wants to join me for some extra practice. Class dismissed."

Everyone got up to leave the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. It had been a long day, but now it was over. Liz stood in her spot. "Liz, are you coming?" Michael asked. Beside him, Rachel's face was blank.

"No. I have to ask Professor Magus about the manuscript. I'll catch you up."

Rachel groaned loudly and led Michael out of the classroom. Liz watched them go, wishing Rachel would only understand. Then someone tapped her on the shoulder. It was Professor Magus.

"Are you having problems?" she asked.

"Yes, I can't find—"

"No, I mean are you having problems with your friends? I happened to notice that you and Rachel haven't sat together in a while."

"It's nothing, really. But about the manuscript, I can't find the letter D anywhere in the library. Do you have any suggestions where to look?"

"If I were you, I'd try Professor Stickler," Professor Magus replied. "His room is full of all kinds of Ancient Runes. After all, he does teach the subject. When do you have him next?"

"Tomorrow afternoon. I'll ask him if—"

"No, don't ask him! He doesn't know I took it, remember? You'll have to just…take it, like I did. It'll be all right. The old bat's half-blind anyway."

"Fine," Liz said. "I'll do it tomorrow. Thanks for the help, Professor."

"Anytime, Liz," said Professor Magus.

"Oh, and Professor?" Liz said. "I won't be able to attend the review session. I'll probably be translating."

"Fair enough," the teacher smiled. "Goodbye, Liz."

Liz grinned back and shut the door.

* * *

By the time afternoon the next day came around, Liz's grin had vanished. How in the world was she supposed to find the page she needed while Professor Stickler was still in the classroom? This was beginning to sound impossible. But nevertheless, she waited patiently after class until all her classmates were gone. Then she crawled under her desk, waiting. Finally, Professor Stickler left the room, leaving her path to his desk clear.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Liz muttered to herself under her breath. She crept up to the desk, where stacks and stacks of papers cluttered the area, exposing no surface of the actual desk. She began to file through them until she heard footsteps. He was coming back.

She dove behind a bookshelf just as he reentered. "Almost forgot my wand," she heard him murmur. With a few more footsteps, he was gone again.

Liz waited for a few seconds, and then peeked her head out, making sure the coast was clear once again. Then she tiptoed back to the desk and began flipping through the pages one more time. Finally she found what she was looking for: a stack of paper all with a large letter D for the heading. She began to pick it up, but footsteps told her he was returning again. This time she picked under his own desk as her hiding place.

Professor Stickler came back in and this time he made to pull out his chair and sit down. He never got to, however, for he spotted Liz.

Liz thought fast. "I found it!" she cried excitedly, getting up and bumping her head on the edge of the desk.

"Miss Potter, what are you doing?" he roared. "Found what?"

"Um, my earring. I thought I lost it." She smiled weakly. "I'm sorry, Professor."

"You should be! Get out of my classroom or it'll be ten points from Gryffindor!"

Liz's mind was racing. How was she supposed to get the papers back? There they were, just sitting on his desk, but he was right behind her. That was when she decided to pull a Professor Magus.

She purposely tripped, creating a racket and at the same time knocking over the stack of paper and just about everything else on the desk. "Dead clumsy," she said, remembering Professor Magus's words when she had done the exact same thing. Hastening to restack the mess that now littered Professor Stickler's floor, Liz carefully tucked the D papers inside her robes. "I am so sorry," she apologized, grabbing her bag. "I'll be going now." And she was gone before Professor Stickler had any idea what was going on.

* * *

That night, Liz found the D she was looking for and added it to her sheet of translated Ancient Runic. When that was done, she plugged in all the missing letters. Now it was finally complete. She stared at it disbelievingly, reading it over.

_My name is Salazar Slytherin. I am one of the four founders of Hogwarts. I have been shunned, ridiculed, and sneered at by those I once called my friends. After leaving my legacy in the Chamber of Secrets, I have succumbed to their wishes and resigned. They have now put protective spells on Hogwarts so I may not Apparate back. But little do they know, I took their plans with me, so I know how to undo them and enact my revenge. The basilisk in the chamber is not enough._

_If you are reading directly from my instructions, translated into Ancient Runic, the process will take one day. If not, it will take six months to a year, depending on the strength of the individual wizards who will put it into action._

_Reading from this, stand at the edge of the Forbidden Forest under the dead oak tree that never falls, and say aloud, "Come down, the shield of Hogwarts, come down!" three times. Take one step forward, and the ground will quake under your feet. Then you know that it is safe to Apparate or Disapparate whenever you please._

_If you are reading a translation, then do the same every night. Add at least one person every two months. On the last day, you will know it will be ready when a branch from the dead oak tree falls. Everyone take a step forward and it will be complete._

_Care for my legacy. Salazar Slytherin_

So Slytherin wrote this in hopes that someone would undo the protective spells of Hogwarts. In the wrong hands this could be deadly. This could be catastrophic. The consequences would be immeasurable.

Liz took the original manuscript and locked it in her drawer. The translation she stuffed into her bag. She'd show it to Professor Magus tomorrow, after her Defense Against the Dark Arts exam, which was her last. Right now, though, it was late, and she was tired. She climbed into bed, fell asleep, and dreamt of people vanishing into the night.


	17. A Pair of Eyes

Chapter 17 – A Pair of Eyes

At last, at the end of the next day, Liz (and the rest of the fourth-year Gryffindors) had their Defense Against the Dark Arts exam. Before the exam, Liz signaled to Professor Magus that she needed to talk to her afterwards, and her teacher nodded. Rachel walked by just then, intentionally ignoring Liz, so Liz did the same to her. They took their seats as Professor Magus began to pass out the tests.

Liz took her time. Her instinct was to rush so she could talk to Professor Magus, but she knew that would only get her a low grade, and that was the last thing she needed at the moment. So she answered each question slowly and deliberately, and went over it again afterwards.

But when she had done all that, she looked up and saw that not one person had turned theirs in yet. She certainly didn't want it to look like she was rushing. So she checked it over one more time. Still, no one stood up. Liz took to glancing around the room, looking anywhere but at Rachel and her classmates' papers.

The she looked out the window. There, staring at her through the lush bushes that lined the Hogwarts walls, was a pair of eyes. Brown ones. She tried to turn her head and tell Professor Magus about them, but she couldn't tear her gaze from the brown pools among the leaves. She was transfixed, the power behind the eyes pulling her in, inviting her to join in whatever was going to happen. She couldn't look away. The eyes were deep and hypnotic…Liz could feel her resistance giving way to ultimate power the eyes held…

Then Liz looked forward. The eyes had relinquished their grip on her, but not completely. They had inserted into her a will, the will of their owner. In the entire time it took for the process to be complete, the rest of the class had turned in their papers and left. Liz noticed her paper still on her desk and gave it to Professor Magus, and then turned to leave the room. "Liz—where are you going?" But Liz didn't answer. She couldn't remember anything to do with that woman, only the eyes, and the plan…the plan…it echoed in her mind.

Liz followed the hallway that led to Gryffindor Tower, vaguely aware that she could hear footsteps behind her. There, ahead of her, were two people who looked kind of familiar. One was a lanky boy with red hair, and the other was a girl, shorter than the boy, with dark brown hair that fell to her waist. "Liz, Rachel has something to tell you," said the boy. But Liz blew right past them. They had nothing to do with the plan.

"She must still be mad," the girl said morosely.

"We'll try again later," the boy answered.

Liz kept going. She reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, gave the password, and entered. Up the stairs she went to her dorm, her desk, her upper left-hand drawer. She unlocked it and withdrew the manuscript. Then she stuffed it into her bag, shouldered the bag, and headed back down.

The footsteps had stopped once she had entered the common room, but they started up again when she left. Nevertheless, she continued through the castle, weaving her way toward the exit. She stepped outside and headed in the direction of the Forbidden Forest. On the way she passed a cabin, with a boy working outside. "Hi, Liz," he said. He also looked familiar, but did that matter? Liz kept going. "Liz? Liz! What's the matter?" She didn't answer. "Liz! Answer me!"

Liz uttered a sound close to a moan. "What's wrong, Liz? Answer me!" the boy demanded. Liz sped up, leaving the boy behind. The footsteps stopped and Liz heard the boy talking to someone. She hurried toward the forest, where the eyes had promised her they'd be.

She plunged deep into the forest, engulfed in the darkness that the canopy of trees provided. She seemed to know the way to wherever the eyes had told her to be. Finally she came to a clearing, still covered in the canopy, and she waited. Then a figure emerged from the trees.

"My young nemesis," he hissed. "You've brought it?"

Liz moaned again, and this time it sounded like a yes.

"Good." The man leaned over her bag, which was sitting a few feet away from her. Liz could almost sense his excitement. This was the culmination of the plan—

"Liz!" yelled a voice. Through her stupor, Liz saw a woman, standing out against the trees. She began to recognize her. It was Professor Magus.

"What are you doing here?" snarled the man.

"I followed her here, Dragon," Professor Magus spat. "She was going to tell me about the manuscript, but when she left, I got suspicious. So I followed."

"That was incredibly stupid. _Stupefy!"_

Professor Magus cried, _"Protego!"_ and fended off the Stunner with her Shield Charm. Back and forth the spells went, while Liz sat helplessly, all the while thinking there was something she should do to help.

Then there were more footsteps, loud, thunderous ones. The Dragon looked in the direction they were coming from, which gave Professor Magus a chance to disarm him. _"Expelliarmus!"_ The Dragon went flying, and his wand landed in Professor Magus's outstretched palm. Liz saw Chris and Hagrid burst through the trees. "Liz!" Chris cried. He was carrying two bottles in his hand. He poured the contents of one of them in Liz's mouth. She gulped it down and snapped out of it. "Snap potion," she sputtered.

"Are yeh all right?" Hagrid asked.

"Surrender, Draco," said Professor Magus with a smirk. "Wandless, powerless…you've lost."

Surprisingly, the Dragon didn't seem perturbed. Instead, he flicked his wrist. There was a flash of light, which left Professor Magus flat on her back and the wand was back in the Dragon's hand.

"_Impedimenta!" _the Dragon yelled, aiming at Hagrid. Hagrid's massive bulk went flying and hit a tree. He slid down the length of it, blood appearing in his path. There was another trickle of blood coming from his scalp. "Hagrid!" Chris cried.

Quick as lightning, the Dragon snatched the manuscript from Liz's bag, with the translation too. Her senses finally regained, Liz whipped out her wand. _"Accio!"_ she yelled. Both the original and the translation flew to her.

"_Impedimenta!"_ yelled the Dragon. Liz flew backwards, flipping head over heels and landing in the dirt. The translation landed unharmed next to her, but she fell on the original and it ripped. _"Crucio!"_ the Dragon cried. Pain filled every inch of Liz's body. She screamed in agony. Chris seemed to be afraid to help, for fear that he too might get a share in the pain. The Dragon didn't stop until he had the two manuscripts again. Then he released his painful grip and reached for his broom.

Panting, Liz yelled,_ "Inflamaria!"_ A flame shot from her wand at the original. It caught on fire. The Dragon dropped it before it burned to ashes. Then he looked up in rage at Liz. "You! _Avada Kedavra!"_

Almost as if time had stopped, Liz saw the green light of the spell flying at her in slow motion. She felt paralyzed, frozen. Her muscles had failed her. She would join her father now…

Liz almost didn't hear Chris yell, _"Protego!"_ A Shield Charm appeared before him, and he had thrown himself in front of Liz. That wouldn't matter, though; the Shield Charm never worked against the Killing Curse. They would both die, because the spell had failed.

Or at least, it was supposed to.

The ray of light rebounded off the Shield Charm at an angle. It hit a tree, which fell back dead into the forest. Chris was rammed against Liz, his weight and the force of the spell hurling them both to the ground. Chris was unconscious, barely breathing, but still alive.

"_Imperio!"_ yelled the Dragon into the night. Liz's mind was wiped blank of all thoughts. Then a nagging voice in the back of her head told her to ride with the Dragon on his broom. She stepped forward, toward the Dragon, who was grinning maliciously.

Professor Magus, who had been vainly trying to stand since the Dragon had gotten his wand back, shouted, _"Finite Incantatem!"_ The blissful, thoughtless feeling was gone, and Liz was suddenly aware that she was a foot from the Dragon, who was now looking murderous. "I know who you are," he said to Magus. "I know your secret. Show yourself, or Potter's child dies."

"You're going to kill her anyway," Magus spat.

"And if I am? If you reveal your secret, I might spare her for next time."

Magus glared up at him. "I have no energy left. I cannot change."

"What sort of fool do you take me for?" the Dragon roared. "If you had no energy, you wouldn't be able to keep up your façade. Do it now, before I kill you!"

Professor Magus squeezed her eyes shut, like she was thinking very hard. There occurred a series of pops that revealed Professor Magus. But she didn't look like herself anymore. She was thinner, for being almost fifty, and her black hair was now tipped with a deep blue. Her whole face was transformed.

"You're a Metamorphmagus!" Liz cried suddenly.

"Nymphadora Tonks, to be exact," said the Dragon, his wand aimed directly at Liz's heart. _"Av—"_


	18. Another

Chapter 18 – Another

"_Av—"_

Professor Magus, or Nymphadora Tonks, or whoever she was hurled herself at the Dragon and knocked him over before he could finish the spell. The two struggled on the ground while Liz backed up. Finally the Dragon threw the woman (Liz didn't know what to think of her as now) and grabbed his broom, the translation in his grasp. "Thank you, Elizabeth!" he yelled. He mounted and flew off, creating a hole in the canopy, which let in a ray of sunlight. The lady called Tonks lay breathing hard on the dirt floor.

Liz's legs gave way and she sat on the ground. The Dragon had gotten away, and he had taken the translated manuscript with him. Liz didn't know what to do.

Chris's shallow breathing brought her back down to earth. She ran over to him and shook him hard. "Wake up, Chris," she begged over his body. His chest was rising and falling, but only a little.

"He needs an extended stay in the hospital wing," said the former Professor Magus. "Possibly St. Mungo's. He blocked a Killing Curse."

"So who exactly are you?" Liz asked, sitting back.

"I can tell you on the way up to the castle," said Magus. "You take Chris, and I'll take Hagrid."

Hagrid looked worse than Chris. Warm blood was dripping over the dried blood. _"Mobilicorpus!"_ said Magus. Hagrid was lifted bodily in the air and floated, his head lolling about. Liz did the same to Chris, and Magus led the way out of the forest, talking as she went.

"First you've got to know my name," she said. "I'm Nymphadora Tonks. But I hate my name, so to anyone who doesn't want to get hexed, it's Tonks."

"And you're a Metamorphmagus," said Liz.

"I'm getting there. Yes, I am."

"Weren't Metamorphmagi put into captivity to be taught how to use their powers?" Liz said. "I think Binns taught about it in History of Magic."

Tonks smiled wryly. "That's what the public was told. In fact, there was a group inside the Ministry who hated anyone different. Of course, they waited until your father was presumed dead to put their plan into action."

"Why?"

"Because your father was a Metamorphmagus."

Liz stopped, and Chris's limp figure nearly fell out of the air. "He was?"

"Yes, he was. I knew your father—"

"So you lied to me!"

"What would you have done? Say, 'I'm a Metamorphmagus on the run from the law'? I sort of had to. Yes, they refrained from capturing us because of your father. There would have been uproar if the Ministry had taken Harry Potter, Order of Merlin, first-class, into captivity. So they waited. And when the opportunity arose and your father was presumed dead, the first thing they did was chain up all the Metamorphmagi in Great Britain and lock us together in a desolate chamber underneath the Ministry. Plenty of us died for want of sunlight, but somehow I managed to survive. Then, this summer, I got an opportunity just like the Ministry and escaped."

"So you came and took a job here," said Liz.

"McGonagall doesn't know it was me. The only ones who do are Ron and Hermione. Do you mind telling McGonagall for me?" By this time they had reached the castle, and as Liz reached for the door, Tonks hung back.

"Why?" Liz asked.

"Because I've got to go. If McGonagall knew where I am, she'd be forced by law to turn me in. I don't want to get her in trouble, or you either." She stuck her hand in her robe and produced a minute broomstick. _"Enlargio!"_ said Tonks. The broomstick grew to its regular size. "I have to go, just like your father had to go into hiding." She mounted. "He still regrets it. Goodbye!" She shot off, waving, and leaving Liz looking skyward with Chris and Hagrid floating unconscious at her side. She had to catch Hagrid with her own spell, since Tonks had let go. It took all Liz's energy to move the two of them all the way up to the hospital wing.

"What happened?" Madame Lesille cried.

"It was the Dragon," Liz breathed.

Madame Lesille seemed to panic. "The Dragon? Here? At school?"

"Yes," Liz said wearily. "Hagrid got knocked out, and he's bleeding. Chris was hit with a Killing Curse."

"Then—he's dead?" Madame Lesille asked blankly.

"No. He cast a Shield Charm."

"But that doesn't work."

"It did this time!" Liz was getting annoyed. She really didn't feel like answering questions at the moment. All she wanted to do was go to McGonagall, tell her what Tonks had said, and then collapse in her bed, though it was only the afternoon. But the first thing came to her when McGonagall burst through the doors of the hospital wing, bewildered, confused, and in a rage. "What happened?" she raged. "I saw Elizabeth and Nymphadora Tonks, with Hagrid and Chris hanging in the air—Dora Magus has disappeared, and I want to know what's going on!" She rounded on Liz. "Explain!"

So Liz explained the whole thing, from the hypnotic eyes in the bushes to Tonks's departure. McGonagall listened attentively, but she cried out in surprise when Liz told her about Tonks. "She's been here the whole year and she never told me?"

"You would've had to turn her in," said Liz, who was suddenly exhausted and woozy.

"And are you all right? You look a bit pale," said Madame Lesille, who had been silently awed during Liz's narration of the tale.

"No. No, not really," said Liz. She back up to one of the hospital beds and passed out.

* * *

Liz awoke, a couple hours or maybe a couple of days later, in the same bed, but covered with cold sweat. She tried to sit up, but Madame Lesille was suddenly over her, gently pushing her back down. Then Rachel and Michael were at her side. "Liz? You're awake?" Michael said frantically.

"Shh, let her rest," said Madame Lesille.

"Please, we've been waiting for two days," Rachel pleaded.

"Fine," said Madame Lesille, pursing her lips.

When she was gone, Rachel burst out with, "When I heard what happened, I was so worried! I never got to apologize!"

"That's not true," said Michael. "You tried."

"But that was when she was hypnotized," Rachel pointed out, "so that didn't count. I'm sorry, Liz."

"I should be the one apologizing," said Liz. "I should've just told you what was going on with the assignment from Professor Magus. Oh, and did you hear about—"

"Yes, McGonagall told us Magus was actually a Metamorphmagus named Tonks on the run from the Ministry of Magic," said Michael. "Wicked!"

"So how are Hagrid and Chris?" Liz asked them.

Rachel and Michael exchanged worried looks. "Well, Hagrid's a bit better," said Michael brightly. Hagrid was in two beds pushed together across the room. His head was propped up with a pile of pillows, and he smiled weakly and waved, wincing.

"And Chris?"

"Well…er…"

"I…it's…"

A flood of dread washed over Liz. "He's not…he didn't…" She couldn't bring herself to say die. "He made it, didn't he?"

Silence.

"Didn't he?"

"He's made it…so far," said Rachel, biting her lip. "But he's not awake yet. He's muttering in his sleep, about you, the Dragon, and the Killing Curse, and even Madame Lesille can't wake him up."

Liz leapt out of bed before Lesille could stop her. Chris was deathly pale, and he writhed under the sheets. "No…no…Protego…" he moaned in his sleep. Liz felt horrible. If her best friend died, it would be all her fault. She couldn't live with guilt like that on her conscience. She blinked back tears, thinking of all the times she had almost gotten Michael, Rachel, and Chris killed, and how she had finally run out of luck. One tear dripped down onto an area of his chest that was exposed, revealing a scar where the spell had hit the Shield Charm that had been held against his body. With a gasp, he sat up.

"Chris!" cried Hagrid, sitting up and cringing with pain. Liz backed away, unsure of what was happening. Rachel and Michael were both equally surprised. Chris was sitting upright, gasping for breath, and he was quickly regaining his pallor.

"He's awake! It's a miracle!" said Madame Lesille.

"Oh my gosh, Chris," was all Rachel could say.

"I'm—it's…I'm alive…" said Chris. Then he leapt out of bed, causing more sharp intakes of breath from the rest of the occupants of the room, and hugged Hagrid. Then he hugged Rachel, and Liz, and clapped Michael on the back. They all looked stunned.

"You're alive," Liz said weakly, holding onto his bedpost for support.

"Lay back down!" Madame Lesille ordered suddenly, and they all jumped. "Lay back down, Mr. Scott! If you go into a relapse there'll be no cause for celebration. Get back in bed now!" So Chris meekly climbed back into his hospital bed, still grinning like mad.

Madame Lesille kept Liz and Chris in the hospital wing for a week more, in which they both got repeated visits from Rachel, Michael, and (in Liz's case) David. He, as he told her, had been frantic with worry every since the news had been released to the student body. He came three times that week, each time with new things to cheer Liz up.

But underneath it all, Liz was angry with herself. The Dragon had gotten away with the manuscript, and it was all her fault. Why hadn't she burned the translation too? Why hadn't she been able to stop him? The scene kept replaying over and over again in her mind, and now she saw the parts where she had failed, where she could've done better.

After they were released, Hagrid still had to stay. He had been injured badly, and he was getting old. Madame Lesille assured them that he would be good as new when he finally got out, but that wouldn't be for a while. Liz, Rachel, Michael, and Chris went to visit him many times before the first three had to leave for the summer.

At last the day came when it was time to board the train and head home. Liz, Rachel, and Michael went to visit Hagrid in the hospital wing one last time. Chris was there already, as he had been most of the time.

"Hi," said Liz, stepping inside.

"Hi," said Chris.

"Are you feeling any better, Hagrid?" asked Michael.

"A bit," Hagrid answered. "Madame Lesille finally took me off the Blood-Replenishing Potions, and tha' 'elped. They were nasty."

"We came to say goodbye," said Rachel. Chris stood up and hugged her and Liz, and Michael shook his hand. They all hugged Hagrid goodbye, and then they left after making Chris promise to write.

They boarded the train with all the rest of the students, who talked excitedly. "I wonder who our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher will be next year," said Rachel thoughtfully, right after they found a compartment. Both Liz and Michael shrugged and thought for a while, and the three of them speculated the subject together for a while. Then they fell silent, and Liz wondered how Hagrid was doing at that moment.

At last the train stopped, and the trio followed the crowds out. Liz saw Bettie, and Winnie, and both looked sulky. She also saw David, who gave a hug goodbye before rushing off to meet his parents. Michael met up with Jessica and Mrs. Weasley, who had found Mr. Weasley, and they were all rather excited about getting to go home together after such a long year. Rachel was the same with her sisters and her mother. Liz finally found the Smiths, waiting for her just outside the barrier. Emma looked disgruntled, as usual, but Mr. and Mrs. Smith looked pleased to see Liz after so long.

"Had a good year, we hope?" asked Mrs. Smith. Emma grumbled something unintelligible.

"It could've been worse," Liz grinned with the first smile she had used in days. "Come on, let's go." And as they set off, Liz cast one more look backwards and grinned.


End file.
